Grijalva wants Gosar held accountable
Suspension of committee assignments is sought
Rep. Raúl Grijalva has asked House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy to suspend the committee assignments of Rep. Paul Gosar until Gosar’s role in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol has been investigated.
It’s unclear if any formal inquiries into Gosar, R-Ariz., and other members of Congress are underway.
Ahead of the insurrection, which killed five and drove members of Congress into shelter, Gosar addressed groups supporting former President Donald Trump, where he claimed election fraud.
In the weeks leading up to that day, Gosar repeatedly used social media to tout the “Stop the Steal” rallies in Arizona and Washington, D.C., and has said President Joe Biden’s victory was “illegitimate.”
Gosar is a member of the House Natural Resources Committee, which is chaired by Grijalva, D-Ariz. Gosar has also been a member of the House Oversight and Reform Committee.
Grijalva, the dean of Arizona’s ninemember House delegation, said leadership should temporarily remove Gosar from his assignments until Republican leadership, the House Ethics Committee or the Justice Department can determine the extent of Gosar’s actions.
“Failure to directly address Rep. Gosar’s behavior prior to and during the
events of Jan. 6 would pour salt in those wounds and make the House Republican Caucus complicit in his actions,” Grijalva wrote to McCarthy, R-Calif. “I join you and most Americans in welcoming President (Joe) Biden’s call for unity and a healing of divisions, but we cannot heal without accountability.”
McCarthy’s office did not immediately respond to The Arizona Republic’s request for comment.
Gosar has not commented directly on his involvement and an aide did not immediately respond Monday to The Republic’s request for comment about Grijalva’s request.
At Saturday’s meeting of the Arizona Republican Party, Gosar, who represents Arizona’s 4th Congressional District, reread his comments to the House, which were interrupted by the mob at the Capitol. He defended his efforts as legitimate and justified.
Many of the Republican activists gathered at the Phoenix event cheered Gosar.
After his remarks, Gosar would not answer questions from the media.
Grijalva’s call to temporarily strip Gosar of his assignments comes after three of Gosar’s own siblings told The Republic they want their brother expelled from Congress.
Separately, a left-leaning government watchdog group based in Washington has asked for ethics and criminal investigations into three members of Congress, including Gosar.
The focus turned to Gosar after a video statement surfaced from Ali Alexander, an organizer of the Jan. 6 “Stop the Steal” rally. Alexander credited Gosar, Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Ala., and Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., as having helped him come up with the plan to put “maximum pressure” on Congress. Biggs has denied working with Alexander.
Gosar was formally objecting to certifying Arizona’s election results when Capitol police halted the proceedings because of the advancing mob.
Grijalva said he also is adding to his committee’s rules a ban on carrying weapons at any official committee hearing, meeting or activity, and a requirement that members must wear masks to help prevent transmission of COVID-19.
His call for a weapon ban comes after Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., vowed to carry her gun on the grounds of the Capitol, and after reports that Capitol Police is investigating a Maryland Republican’s efforts to allegedly carry a gun to the House floor.
Grijalva told The Republic Monday that the House Natural Resources Committee “is not a forum to continue circulating the lies about the election.”
Grijalva took issue with McCarthy’s own comments over the weekend that sought to cast blame on the Capitol rampage on “everybody” — not Trump or Republicans who sought to challenge the election results
Pennsylvania.
“The insurrection, and the attack on the Capitol, and trying to stop the constitutional mandate of certifying the elections ... I have not one iota of guilt that I had anything to do with that — and there’s a lot of members that feel that way, both Democrat and Republican,” he said. “And those that have not only took credit, but motivated and encouraged it, they’re the ones that are answerable. They’re the ones that if there’s any culpability, that’s where it’s going to fall.”
Grijalva added: “This is the beginning of accountability for a lot of these guys, and for Gosar on this committee, it certainly is.”
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