‘He doesn’t deserve mercy’: Ruben Gallego goes off on John Eastman during CNN interview
One of the Iraq War veterans who took action to defend Congress from Trump supporters on Jan. 6 blasted Rudy Giuliani on CNN on Friday.
"On Wednesday, after chemical irritants were fired in the Capitol to repel a pro-Trump mob, Rep. Ruben Gallego thought of the moment years ago when he entered a Marine Corps gas chamber. The training was suddenly relevant for the Iraq veteran and Arizona Democrat after an announcement blared to don gas masks stored under the seats. Gallego looked over the panicked faces of fellow lawmakers and explained to them some of the most potent lessons from boot camp," The Washington Postreported the day after the attack. "Trust your mask. Take measured, shallow breaths. Don’t panic."
Gallego was interviewed by CNN's John Berman, who asked about a tweet the Congressman wrote saying John Eastman "needs to end his life penniless and broke if we can’t find a way to throw him in jail."
"Aside from consequences he does or does not face, what will accountability look like for you at the end of this? Berman asked.
"Well, certainly, Eastman going to jail, him being disbarred, no longer serving on boards of, you know, colleges or non-profits or anything of that," Gallego replied. "I really want him to be broke and penniless for the rest of his life."
"He actively participated in a coup knowing what he was doing was both illegal and would never have been supported by the Supreme Court or the people of the United States. He doesn't deserve mercy," Gallego said. "These types of traitors need to be cast off from society if for anything to show other people there are consequences to trying to overthrow your government."
"You've spoken about what you were prepared to do on Jan. 6," Berman said. "You're an Iraq war veteran, you were teaching colleagues in the House chamber how to defend themselves. As you watch these hearings, does this all come roaring back?"
"I mean, it never left me," Gallego replied. "You know, I'm a very -- not lucky but kind of lucky person in the sense that I've had PTSD. So, I've been able to deal with whatever I've dealt with that day."
"I know a lot of my colleagues are traumatized from it and they're constantly being reminded about it. What it does tell me is that my instinct that day was correct. This was larger than I thought. This is organized. You know, the idea that this was a mob that just kind of decided how to attack the Capitol is just -- it's actually very similar to what we see all the time during insurrections where you have terrorists using civilians that are out there protesting as a shield and a cover for movement for them to attack us and that's actually what happened that day."
"Those Proud Boys, those fat guys that call themselves Oath Keepers, you know, really were using the mob as a way for them to move into the Capitol and really try to take down a democracy," he said.
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