Rep. Jamaal Bowman is under investigation for pulling a fire alarm as his fellow Democrats were desperately trying to delay a vote — an action that resulted in the full-scale response of law enforcement and emergency personnel as well as the clearing of the federal building.
He says he was just trying to open a door. Given all the photos and videos, and the lameness of his explanation, he’s obviously lying. He should be expelled from the House for both his criminal behavior and his attempt at coverup. At the least.
You and I would be arrested, jailed, fined and no doubt given — in these politically charged times — the Jan. 6 special treatment of being deemed guilty absent any court finding. So, too, just about any Republican member of the House.
But Bowman is a socialist squad member, a Black man, a Democrat and among the class of politicians who have happily, for the sake of their own consciouses, shed all remnants of morality and virtue so they are freed up to pursue whatever political aims, at whatever costs of principles, they desire. Getting rid of that pesky guilty feeling does wonders for doing what one wants, without having to worry about sleepless nights. Laws are for little people, after all.
Bowman wants it believed that at the very same time Democrats were trying to stop a key vote on the budget, that he mistakenly “ripped two signs down and threw them on the floor,” as Breitbart reported — two signs, posted on the glass portions of the door next to the fire alarm, that read, in all caps: “Emergency exit only — push until alarm sounds (3 seconds) door will unlock in 30 seconds.” Those two signs were behind a stand-along sign that read, “Emergency exit only.” And just to the left of these three signs, mounted on the wall, was the fire alarm clearly marked, as all fire alarms are, with the words: “FIRE: PUSH IN, PULL DOWN.”
Images taken from U.S. Capitol Police video cameras show Bowman standing right next to these doors, with their clearly marked signage, with arm outstretched, hand touching what logic dictates would be the fire alarm on the wall.
And Bowman, under investigation now by police, says this: “Today, as I was rushing to make a vote, I came to a door that is usually open for votes but today would not open. I am embarrassed to admit that I activated the fire alarm, mistakenly thinking it would open the door. I regret this and sincerely apologize for any confusion this caused. But I want to be very clear, this was not me, in any way, trying to delay any vote. It was the exact opposite — I was trying urgently to get to a vote, which I ultimately did and joined my colleagues in a bipartisan effort to keep our government open.”
Hmm.
To believe or not to believe, that is the question.
How about: Not.
Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, New York Republican, wrote on X: “This is the United States Congress, not a New York City high school. This action warrants expulsion & I’m introducing a resolution to do just that.”
The vote was delayed by more than two hours, after Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries spent 52 minutes on the House floor delivering mundane remarks “in what was seen as an effort to give his fellow members and their staffs time to figure out whether his party would support the bill,” NBC News wrote.
Mission accomplished.
Democrats got their delay.
Now the question on the table is: How two-tiered is American justice?
If Bowman is not expelled, it clearly shows a biased system that not only favors Democrats, but definitely the political class.
If you or I pulled the fire alarm without cause in the Capitol, resulting in police and tax-paid investigative action and evacuation of the building, our explanations would come from the place of a jail cell, through the lips of a public defender, and falling on deaf ears of Democrats who would then rail for the need for more security for their offices and staff. At the very least, then, Bowman deserves to lose his job.
• Cheryl Chumley can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter, @ckchumley. Listen to her podcast “Bold and Blunt” by clicking HERE. And never miss her column; subscribe to her newsletter and podcast by clicking HERE. Her latest book, “Lockdown: The Socialist Plan To Take Away Your Freedom,” is available by clicking HERE or clicking HERE or CLICKING HERE.
