Rep. Eric Swalwell laid into Rep., Matt Gaetz for bringing a man who was charged with murder to the House to say the Pledge of Allegiance.
Video:
Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) slams Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) for bringing “somebody that he met at a gun club” to the first House Judiciary Committee hearing to lead the Pledge of Allegiance.
Turns out, Gaetz’s honored guest was charged with killing a family member in April 2019. pic.twitter.com/15Dzmo343u
— The Recount (@therecount) February 28, 2023
Swalwell said:
I don’t think he really genuinely cares about saying the Pledge of Allegiance, but he wanted to do it to own the libs and see if we would vote against it. We didn’t. But who did he bring in here to say the Pledge of Allegiance? Who did he parade in here in a uniform? Somebody, that he met a gun club he said, locally. Okay. Mr. Cicilline had the crazy idea that maybe we should vet the people who come in here, make sure they’re not insurrectionists. Mr. McClintock said I am not kidding you, Mr, McClintock said well it’s not we’re going to invite somebody who committed murder. No, he literally said that. It’s not like we’re going to invite somebody who committed murder.
Who did Mr. Gaetz bring? He brought Corey Beekman. Corey Beekman in 2019 was in a standoff with Michigan police after he was arrested and charged with murder, assault with intent to commit murder, and two counts of felony firearm possession. The family of the victims said Mr. Gaetz doing that it was like getting a dagger stuck in our heart again. We were infuriated when we first saw it. I was disgusted with the whole thing.
That’s why there’s a trust deficit here. You pull off a public stunt to try and own the libs and what you did was you brought in a guy who allegedly shot to people and killed one of them. That’s where the trust deficit is, so you can play your games, conduct your stunts. We’re here to get s*it done.
Gaetz’s office did reach out to the family and apologize, and Rep. Gaetz said that he would apologize on his podcast. Gaetz’s office also said that the staffers in charge of background checks had been fired because the problem was the staffers, not the congressman who brought a guy off the street who had been charged with murder to lead the House Judiciary Committee in the Pledge of Allegiance.
The charges against Beekman were dropped after a key witness refused to testify.
House Republicans are only interested in stunts and games while Democrats are trying to get things done. Gaetz has had a very bad day in the House on Tuesday, but the idea of bringing a person charged with murder into the House shows how reckless, irresponsible, and dangerous Republicans are.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association