Last night, Pennlive reported:
A Lycoming County resident is challenging the right of two conservative Republicans to be on next month’s primary ballot because of their roles in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection and their efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.
Jeffrey D. Hill of Muncy, a registered Democrat, in documents filed Friday and Monday in U.S. Middle District Court, claims actions taken by state Sen. Doug Mastriano and U.S. Rep. Scott Perry disqualify them under the state constitution. Mastriano is one of nine GOP candidates running for governor.
He contends the two violated their oaths to support the U.S. Constitution by engaging in subversive activities leading up to the storming of the Capitol and the violence that ensued.
I so need to find a copy of this lawsuit!
Pennlive continues:
These are among the reasons Hill claims Mastriano, a state senator from Franklin County, should be disqualified.
- Chartered bases at his expense to transport people to then President Trump’s rally that preceded the riot at the Capitol.
- He and his wife were photographed at the Capitol as rioters were breaching police lines.
- Was with former state Rep. Rick Saccone when the latter encouraged insurrections to storm the Capitol.
- Joined a Republican delegation that met with Trump in the Oval Office to discuss overturning the election after Joe Biden had been certified the winner.
- Considers far-right groups such as the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys as patriots.
Yea, I really need to see this lawsuit.
I can buy the "violated their oaths" argument 100%. The others, if the reporting is accurate, not so much.
Here's why. This is the Oath that Rep Perry took:
I...do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.There was no evidence of voter fraud and Trump's mob was looking to stop the Constitutionally described transfer of power to the winner of the 2020 election, Joe Biden. This makes them enemies of The Constitution. Something Rep. Scott Perry should have been defending, as per his oath.
He did not. However deeply he's involved in Trump's coup attempt, he's that much in violation of his oath.
We've already looked at the various oaths State Senator Doug Mastriano's taken. This is the oath he took when he was seated as a Pennsylvania State Senator:
I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support, obey and defend the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of this Commonwealth and that I will discharge the duties of my office with fidelity.
Part of that oath is to "obey and defend the Constitution" and being part of an attempted coup obviously violates that oath.
Some of Hill's other arguments (the charge that Mastriano considers the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys to be patriots, for example) just don't fly.
As with Rep Perry, to the extent that he's involved with Trump's attempted coup, that's how much he's in violation of his oath of office. And if he's in violation of his oath of office, he's disqualified from holding it - or any other.
Let me just add that refusing to cooperate with a congressional committee investigating the January 6 insurrection would certainly qualify, in my mind at least - but then again I'm not an attorney, as an oath violation, to be sure.
If anyone comes across a PDF of Hill's lawsuit, please send it in. I really want to see it.
I'll keep looking for it as well.
