Last month, a rather damning video was released of Rep. Jamaal Bowman’s actions on the day he pulled the fire alarm in the Cannon House Office Building, painting a picture that was severely at odds with Bowman’s official story that he was “confused” by the door having alarm signs on it.
For those who missed it, in the clip, we saw the New York Democrat and Squad member calmly walking towards the doors, pushing for a moment, pulling the signs off of them, pulling the alarm, and walking away without looking back. At no point did he wait for the doors to open, nor did he appear to be in the “rush” he initially said he was in to cast a vote in the House of Representatives:
After a Capitol Police investigation was completed, alleging that Bowman “willingly or knowingly gave a false fire alarm within the District of Columbia,” a misdemeanor charge was filed by the D.C. Attorney General’s office.
Bowman turned himself in, pled guilty to pulling the fire alarm, and agreed to pay the $1,000 fine as part of a plea deal, with no jail time expected and the charge to be dropped in three months though it appeared pretty obvious from the video clip that Bowman had committed a felony by deliberately obstructing/delaying a Congressional proceeding.
In an update to this story—and to further prove the point about the two-tiered system of justice we have in this country—Bowman has once again escaped punishment for his actions, with the House Ethics Committee announcing last week that a majority of members did not agree to establish an investigative subcommittee:
On October 26, 2023, Representative Jamaal Bowman was charged by the D.C. Attorney General’s Office with a misdemeanor violation of making a false alarm of fire. Pursuant to Committee Rule 18(e)(2) and House Rule XI, clause 3(b)(9), within 30 days of a Member being indicted or otherwise formally charged with criminal conduct, the Committee shall either establish an Investigative Subcommittee (“ISC”) or report to the House describing its reasons for not establishing an ISC.
Pursuant to Committee Rule 10(a), establishment of an ISC and a report to the House regarding the conduct of a Member both require an affirmative vote of a majority of the Members of the Committee. A majority of the Members of the Committee did not agree to establish an ISC or report to the House regarding Representative Bowman’s conduct.
Unlike most other Congressional committees, the House Ethics Committee is evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats at 5-5, so even if all five Republican members voted to proceed with establishing an ISC, they’d need one vote from the Democrat side to move forward, which obviously didn’t happen here.
So for those keeping score at home, after Bowman committed a felony in September by pulling the fire alarm in order to try to delay a House vote to avert a government shutdown, he has faced one minor misdemeanor charge to which he pled guilty, paid a small fine, and had to issue a formal apology to the Capitol Police. The charge will be dropped in three months.
Bowman has not even faced a censure vote in the GOP-controlled House (although a resolution was filed in late October by Michigan Republican Rep. Lisa McClain), and now he will not face an investigation by the Ethics Committee.
If this isn’t a clear-cut case of Democrat Privilege in full effect, I don’t know what is.
— Stacey Matthews has also written under the pseudonym “Sister Toldjah” and can be reached via Twitter. —
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