Throughout President Donald Trump’s first term in office, U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) has been a reliable ally and defender in Congress.
As a result, he has also been a regular target of anti-Trump progressives — including a recent petition calling for him to be disbarred for his support of the president’s election-related challenges, as reported by the Washington Times.
“Egregious betrayal and attack”
The petition was filed with the Florida Bar recently and aims to see Gaetz stripped of his license to practice law in the state.
Pam Keith, a Democrat who failed to unseat incumbent Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL) in last month’s election, has now shifted her sights toward the ongoing criticism of Gaetz.
On Tuesday, she tweeted her support for disbarment, asserting: “Whether or not they choose to discipline him (they have censured him in the past), the record of his tenure will have this stain forever.”
Although Keith registered a number of complaints against the congressman, her main argument seemed to be the allegation that he engaged in “sedition” and an “egregious betrayal and attack on the Constitution.”
Specifically, that alleged betrayal was Gaetz’s decision to sign on to an amicus brief — along with more than 100 other House Republicans — in support of a Texas lawsuit aimed at overturning the reported election results in four other states.
“Standards and norms”
That court challenge was registered with the U.S. Supreme Court in an unsuccessful attempt to dispute election laws and processes in Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
According to the petition that Keith filed, Gaetz repeatedly “engaged in conduct that blatantly violates the standards and norms of lawyers licensed in this state, and should be sanctioned for his conduct, up to and including, disbarment.
Furthermore, she argued that he “willingly participated in an act of sedition, and an illegal and immoral effort to disenfranchise millions of American voters.”
Keith wants the state bar association to conduct a full investigation into Gaetz and publish the results of its findings. Her petition had attracted more than 17,000 signatures as of Saturday.
For his part, Gaetz has advocated for the Trump campaign’s various challenges, tweeting in the aftermath of the election that the U.S. Department of Justice “should be in court NOW” as part of court action underway in Pennsylvania.
The post Democratic attorney calls for Rep. Gaetz to be disbarred for supporting Trump election challenge first appeared on Conservative Institute.
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