Three House Republicans sent a letter Monday to the acting sergeant at arms requesting clarification on rules that say members must walk through a metal detector before walking on the floor. The lawmakers allege Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has been granted special treatment.
Republican Reps. Rodney Davis of Illinois, Barry Loudermilk of Georgia and Bryan Steil of Wisconsin sent the letter after a video was released Friday of Pelosi walking around the Capitol before voting. Republicans say she broke House rules by not walking through a metal detector to vote on the House floor and argue that Pelosi is receiving special treatment if she was able to be wanded down instead of walking through the metal detector.
“The Speaker of the House has recently confirmed that she entered the House Chamber through a closed entrance on multiple occasions without completing a magnetometer security screening. Without evidence, she says that she was ‘wanded,’ and that this activity satisfied the ‘security screening’ requirement of Resolution 73,” the letter reads. “I write today requesting clarification of the ‘security screening’ requirement. All Members must live under the same rules. By her own admission, Ms. Pelosi has again been afforded special treatment — wanding, rather than a magnetometer screening — that, to my knowledge, has been offered to no other Member of Congress unless a physical disability prevents them from going through a magnetometer.”
“If ‘wanding’ meets the requirements of Resolution 73, I request that you immediately afford similar treatment to all Members of Congress,” they added.
The House installed magnetometers in early January and require all members of Congress to walk through them before entering the House of Representatives chamber after rioters supporting Trump stormed the U.S. capitol, committing acts of vandalism and violence.
“Any other non wheel chair bound member of Congress who followed the same route Speaker Pelosi did in the video would have been fined $5000,” Davis told the Daily Caller.
READ THE LETTER HERE:
(Daily Caller Obtained : Co… by Henry Rodgers
Republican Tennessee Rep. Tim Burchett reportedly provided the video to Politico, which shows Pelosi walking around the Capitol, but not specifically bypassing any metal detectors. (RELATED: ‘The Most Desperate Man In Washington’: Pelosi Spox Goes After Republican Congressman Who Alleged House Speaker Bypassed Security Screening)
“Wanding was upon entering the Speaker’s Lobby,” Pelosi’s chief of staff, Drew Hammill, said when asked by the Daily Caller if Pelosi was scanned with a hand-held metal detector that the video doesn’t show. “You can see the Sergeant at Arms office staff holding the Mace of the House waiting for her to be wanded in the video.”
Davis, Loudermilk and Steil sent a letter in February to the sergeant at arms demanding Pelosi pay $5,000 for allegedly breaking House rules she put into place. (RELATED: House Republicans Say Pelosi Broke Her Own Rules And Bypassed Metal Detectors, Demand She Be Fined)
Hammill slammed Republicans for trying to accuse Pelosi of breaking House rules.
“What this video proves is that Congressman Rodney Davis is both the most desperate man in Washington and completely unfamiliar with the layout of the U.S. Capitol. The Speaker always enters the Chamber this way via the Speaker’s Lobby when she opens the House, which is reaffirmed by watching CSPAN footage. While we appreciate the Congressman’s latest, failed attempt at relevance, we do hope that he will consider a tour of the U.S. Capitol when pandemic protocols allow so that he may better familiarize himself with this temple of our Democracy,” Hammill said in a statement.
“The official CSPAN footage also clearly shows that Congressman Davis continues to blatantly lie by alleging he personally witnessed Speaker Pelosi’s entrance to the Speaker’s Lobby that day. He is seen talking to multiple other Members with his back to the Speaker’s Lobby the entire time,” he added.
House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn was fined $5,000 Friday for bypassing the metal detectors before walking on the floor.
Clyburn denied breaking House rules to CNN. “I have no idea,” he said. “It’s just somebody on the other side trying to cause mischief.”
For a first-time offense, the fine is $5,000. A second-time offense results in a $10,000 penalty.
