Surprise, surprise. The D.C. Attorney General has cut a sweetheart deal with far-left Democrat Congressman Jamaal Bowman after he pulled a fire alarm in the Cannon House Office Building in an apparent effort to delay a House vote. Committee on House Administration Chairman Bryan Steil joined Fox Business to discuss the bizarre series of events during and after Bowman's stunt.
As Andy McCarthy explains, the Department of Justice is not pursuing a felony obstruction of Congress charge against Bowman. Furthermore, the plea deal Bowman has agreed to will ultimately get rid of the charges against him and protects him from future prosecution in the scenario that a Republican is elected to the White House in 2024.
Bowman’s sweetheart misdemeanor plea deal, however, will give him double-jeopardy protection against future criminal prosecution. It is cost-free for him — other than the nominal $1,000 fine. He will not only never spend a moment in jail (the maximum sentence for the misdemeanor is six months, but he is being spared any of that); it has been agreed that if he pays the fine and apologizes to the Capitol Police, the charges against him will be withdrawn in three months.
House Democrat Leadership is also standing behind Bowman and will not support any effort to censure him for his actions.
REPORTER: "Is what [Rep. Jamaal Bowman] has done and admitted to in court worthy of censuring?"
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) October 26, 2023
HAKEEM JEFFRIES: "Not in my view" pic.twitter.com/7VgC1uUfWe
Even after pleading guilty, Bowman maintains that he didn't pull the alarm on purpose and laughed off any comparison of his actions to those who have been charged with crimes relating to the January 6, 2021, breach of the Capitol.
"And you're standing by your word that you did not have any intention of slowing things down [by pulling the fire alarm]?"
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) October 26, 2023
Democrat Rep. Jamaal Bowman: "Hell no!" pic.twitter.com/ovnJSKRK1y
Democrat Rep. Jamaal Bowman, who was caught on tape pulling a fire alarm just before a big House vote: "That's crazy, immediately likening me to an insurrectionist!" pic.twitter.com/joaIeLE0jd
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) October 27, 2023
McCarthy notes that Bowman's conduct was "willful and consequential" compared to the actions of many January 6 protestors:
The majority of the offenders were non-violent protesters who would never have been charged by the Justice Department under normal circumstances. For political reasons, Democrats were determined to make an example of them, running up the prosecution numbers in order to promote a “domestic terrorism” narrative. As we’ve detailed, defendants from all over the country were hunted down by the FBI and dragged back to Washington, often to face mere misdemeanor charges — including one defendant, from New Mexico, whom Justice Department prosecutors knew had been waved into the Capitol by police (he was acquitted).
Earlier this month, Attorney General Merrick Garland insisted on 60 Minutes that there is "only one rule" of law, and"We do not have one rule for Republicans and another rule for Democrats."
But as McCarthy concluded, the treatment of Jamaal Bowman "is two-tiered justice. The Democrats always take care of their own."