Two House Republicans have officially called on US Attorney General Bill Barr to determine whether Speaker Pelosi broke federal law when she ripped up President Trump’s SOTU speech earlier this year.
Nancy “Antoinette” Pelosi ripped President Trump’s State of the Union speech shortly after he concluded his address to the nation in February.
Video evidence and photos showed Pelosi pre-ripped the speech while President Trump was speaking.
When asked by reporters about her stunt, Pelosi said she did it “because it was the courteous thing to do considering the alternatives.”
“I tore it up. I was trying to find one page with truth on it. I couldn’t,” she said.
Conservatives immediately took to Twitter that night and accused Pelosi of breaking federal law when she destroyed government records.
US Code prohibits the destruction of government records
Nancy Pelosi may have just committed a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2071, Section 2071 (a) when she ripped up President Trump’s State of the Union address
This violation is punishable by up to three years in prison
🤔
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) February 5, 2020
Two GOP lawmakers are now asking Bill Barr to determine whether Pelosi violated 18 U.S.C. § 2071 which deals with the mutilation of official federal records and sets a criminal penalty of up to three years in prison.
Pelosi’s spox Drew Hammill argued the Speaker was in possession of a printout of Trump’s speech and therefore it isn’t an official record.
Fox News reported:
Two House GOP leaders have officially called on Attorney General William Barr to determine whether House Speaker Nancy Pelosi broke federal law when she ripped up President Trump’s State of the Union speech earlier this year.
Republican Policy Committee Chairman Gary Palmer, R-Ala., and Republican Study Committee Chairman Mike Johnson, R-La., wrote a letter to Barr on Tuesday asking he deliver a definitive answer on whether “Pelosi committed a criminal act by destroying an official copy of the State of the Union speech delivered to her” by Trump.
“Nancy Pelosi’s famous tantrum on the House floor was more than disgraceful; she violated her responsibility to preserve official documents delivered to the House of Representatives,” Palmer said in a statement. “We ask the Attorney General to review this scandalous outburst, not simply because it offended every American, but because it set a precedent for radical politicians to hijack state events for partisan performance art and possibly break the law with, thus far, no consequence.”