Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s new text messages surrounding the 2020 election are drawing attention to recent court testimony in which the Georgia Republican said she did not recall any involvement in efforts to keep former President Donald Trump in office. The charge.
Asked during a hearing Friday if he had advocated martial law to prevent President Joe Biden from taking office, Greene said he couldn’t remember. But a new stretch of texting obtained by CNN shows that Greene broached the idea with then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows.
Ron Fein, who is leading a legal challenge to Greene’s candidacy in Georgia over allegations that she helped facilitate the Jan. 6 riots, told NBC News Monday that the text messages undermine his credibility and his testimony in court. case.
“Marjorie Taylor Greene testified under oath that she had no recollection of telling Trump or his chief of staff to declare martial law to try to keep Trump in power, but her own texts reveal that she did exactly that,” Fein said in a statement. release.
“Anyone who ‘can’t remember’ whether he urged the White House Chief of Staff to speak to the President of the United States about declaring martial law cannot be trusted when he claims he ‘can’t remember’ his own commitment in insurrection,” he added.
Greene’s attorney and office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
In a text message to Meadows on Jan. 17, 2021, Greene told Meadows that some Republican lawmakers were saying Trump should call for martial law.
“In our private members-only chat, several say that the only way to save our Republic is for Trump to call for the Marshall Act. I don’t know about those things. He just wanted you to tell him. This election was stolen. We all know. They will destroy our country afterwards. Tell him to declassify as much as possible so we can go after Biden and anyone else!” she wrote.
NBC News has been unable to independently confirm all text communications that appear to reveal attempts by the White House by Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election that go far beyond what was previously known.
Greene testified under oath for nearly four hours as a witness during Friday’s hearing and was asked if he had advocated martial law before Biden’s inauguration.
“I don’t remember, I don’t remember,” Greene said when pressed about conversations and social media posts surrounding the election and Jan. 6.
Free Speech for People, an election and campaign finance reform organization led by Fein, filed a lawsuit last month on behalf of a group of Georgia voters seeking to remove Greene from the ballot because of his alleged role. in the January 6 attack.
Lawyers for both sides in the case have until Thursday to file final briefs with the court, meaning the plaintiffs could subpoena the new text messages. The judge said he plans to finalize his recommendation “about a week later.”
That recommendation will then go to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who will decide whether Greene remains on the ballot for the state’s May 24 primary.
Reference-www.nbcnews.com