Donald Trump's chosen candidate for U.S. Senate in Alabama has put himself in hot water as he defends himself in court against allegations he incited the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
"The particular defense Brooks has chosen seems aimed at having Justice Department lawyers mount a legal defense for him. He is arguing that his incendiary speech on Jan. 6 was part of his official duties as a congressman, a crusade he continued in federal court on Monday," The Daily Beast reported Wednesday. "If that is the case, Brooks may have opened himself up to potential removal from office. And if it’s not the case—as prosecutors are trying to prove—then Brooks has handed prosecutors all the ammunition they’d need to charge him with misusing congressional resources."
Trump endorsed Brooks in July, saying "he stands for America First, and everything Alabama wants."
"In his shaky attempt to prove that his Jan. 6 speech was part of his official duties, Brooks has introduced evidence that his staff spent taxpayer time preparing and helping him with his Jan. 6 speech. So now, if Brooks falls back and admits his speech was a form of campaigning—as prosecutors are arguing—then he may have a whole new set of legal problems," The Beast reported. "Brooks has created a classic ‘damned if you do, damned if you don’t’ legal conundrum."
Brooks wore a bulletproof vest for his Jan. 6 speech and Trump has reportedly been regretting his endorsement. Trump reportedly met with Katie Boyd Britt, the candidate backed by Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY).
"If Brooks fails to convince the judge he was acting officially as a congressman and falls back on the concept that he was campaigning, he could face charges for misusing congressional resources. That’s because, once again, Brooks himself laid out in court documents how he directed his office to be involved in every aspect of the speech, starting with the plans made with the White House," The Beast reported. "While he did graduate from University of Alabama’s law school in 1978, he entered politics as a state-level representative just four years later—and the state bar association currently lists him as 'not authorized to practice law in Alabama.'"
Read the full report.
