Government watchdog, Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust (FACT) has filed ethics complaints against a number of the democrats who participated in the sit ins. They filed complaints with the Office of Congressional Ethics. The democrats were illegally live streaming from the floor with their phones and using the sit in to fund raise. Both are against House rules.
House ethics rules state that lawmakers cannot use official resources — including locations in the Capitol complex — for campaign or political activities. Campaign ads, for instance, cannot be filmed or photographed in congressional offices.
“Not only do these email solicitations tied directly to official acts reflect poorly on the House of Representatives, the emails are directly contrary to the purposes and prohibitions of the Ethics Rules,” Matthew Whitaker, the group’s executive director, wrote.
“This type of behavior is precisely why the public distrusts elected officials,” Whitaker added.
Multiple Democrats, including Reps. Scott Peters (Calif.), Eric Swalwell (Calif.) and Beto O’Rourke (Texas), live-streamed the sit-in on their phones because the official House cameras were shut off during the protest.
House rules prohibit anyone from taking videos or photographs on the floor. But lawmakers of both parties often flout the rules, particularly during events like the State of the Union or an address from a foreign leader.
The House sergeant-at-arms repeatedly told lawmakers to turn off their cameras during the sit-in, but they ignored the warnings throughout the nearly 26-hour protest.
Some Republicans are calling for the Democrats who violated House rules to face punishment. Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) hasn’t ruled out doling out consequences for lawmakers involved in the effort that held up almost all of last week’s originally scheduled proceedings.
“We’re reviewing everything right now,” Ryan told reporters at a Capitol news conference.
To which Democrats say: Bring it on.
“They want to pick this fight and say the American people shouldn’t hear this stuff, that we’re like the Politburo, the Chinese communist party?” Peters said in an interview with The Hill. “If you want people to calm down, there’s a better way than fighting a stupid battle over rules.”
Like I’ve always told you, when it comes to democrats, rules don’t matter.