Hunter Biden’s lawyer filed an ethics complaint against Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) Friday, requesting that an ethics watchdog “immediately” initiate a review of Greene’s conduct after she …

  • wagesj45@kbin.social
    3·
    1 year ago

    As repulsive a move as this is, I’m afraid that the DC law almost certainly won’t apply in this case. This was done as part of her official “speech” as a representative.

    The speech and debate clause, which appears in Article 1, section 6, of the U.S. Constitution, was written before the First Amendment and has a more limited scope.

    The clause, whose inclusion reflected the development in England of an independent Parliament, states that “for any Speech or Debate in either House, they [members] shall not be questioned in any other Place.” It follows a provision, now largely moot, that prevents the arrest, for civil cases, of members traveling to or from sessions of Congress.

    • instamat@lemmy.world
      1·
      1 year ago

      But what about the message she sent to the people on her email list? Surely that doesn’t have the same protections of the speech and debate clause.

      • wagesj45@kbin.social
        2·
        1 year ago

        Depends on what a court decides “in either house” to mean. Does it mean physically in the House or Senate chambers? Does it mean “in furtherance of their duties as a congressperson”? I know how I would rule, but I don’t know how the Supreme Court would rule.