Congressman Mo Brooks (AL-05) on Tuesday released an almost 3,000-word statement defending his January 6 speech that is now the focus of a Democratic effort to censure the North Alabama Republican.
The censure resolution, cosponsored by former DNC chair Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), alleges that Brooks “encouraged and incited violence against his fellow Members of Congress, as part of an assault on the United States Capitol.”
In his lengthy remarks, Brooks rebutted that charge and said, “Socialist Democrats and their Fake News Media Allies won’t get an apology from me because my remarks were not wrong. Conversely, the Socialist Democrats and their Fake News Media Allies should be apologizing to the public for the egregiously and manipulative way they have deceived the public on this issue.”
Brooks’ full statement, unedited, as follows:
As one of America’s most effective conservative leaders, I defend my honor & reputation against scurrilous, George Orwellian, 1984, Socialist Democrats Politics of Personal Destruction, the same attack strategy used in 2012 against then-presidential candidate Mitt Romney, and nonstop against President Trump with false Russian Collusion charges and the 2019 sham impeachment effort.
Let’s be clear, this entire smear campaign is about intimidating, censoring and suppressing the ability of American citizens to fight at the ballot box the efforts of Socialist Democrats to seize control of the United States of America.
So that I am unambiguously clear, American citizens recourse is at the ballot box (maybe this comment will deter Socialist Democrats and Fake News Media from again shrilly shouting false claims of violence advocacy).
As you read these remarks, I ask that you consider two quotes.
First, as Jesus said in the Bible, John 8:32, “And ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free”.
Second, I quote the words of American patriot Martin Luther King, who stated in 1958 that, “True peace is not merely the absence of tension; it is the presence of justice.”
I ask the Members of Congress, the citizens of the great State of Alabama, and the citizens of America, to bear these words in mind, set their political stridency aside, and strive for justice.
Before I get into the meat of my remarks, let me add that January 6 was supposed to be a day of great debate on the floors of the House and Senate about voter fraud and election theft that is supposed to propel America to more honest or accurate elections.
Instead, our message was hijacked by people whose illegal breach of the Capitol did a great disservice to our cause and America.
Those who engaged in illegal conduct should be ashamed of themselves because their attack on the U.S. Capitol destroyed two months of debate and work.
Those who engaged in the illegal breach of the U.S. Capitol could not have done more damage if they had followed any script written by the Democrat National Committee.
I take great offense at anyone who suggests I am so politically inexperienced as to want to torpedo my honest and accurate election system effort I spent months fighting on.
Mo Brooks Background
Let me share a little about myself. My long-time acquaintances and family would describe me as a straight arrow or a “square”.
I have never smoked tobacco.
I don’t consume alcohol.
I have never taken illegal drugs.
I have never been accused or convicted of any felonies or misdemeanors.
In half a century of driving, I have never had a DUI, a reckless driving ticket or even a speeding ticket.
I did once misjudge a traffic light and deservedly got a ticket, but that is it.
I have never had a vehicle wreck in which anyone claimed I was at fault.
My parents raised me to be a good, self-supporting citizen and I have strived to be just that.
My parents also encouraged me to participate in government if the opportunity arose, as this was a part of my ancestry.
On my mother’s side, we have a North Carolina ancestral history that includes a county sheriff, a state legislator, a board of education member, a road commissioner, and the like.
In fact, the first rest stop you come to on I-40 when you enter North Carolina from Tennessee is named after my grandfather, D. Reeves Noland.
I am proud of that ancestry. I have tried to follow it.
As such, I have served the public for 36 years as a Tuscaloosa assistant district attorney, an Alabama legislator, the Madison County District Attorney, a county commissioner, and U.S. Congressman.
In my 36 years as a public servant, I have a perfect ethics record, having never been found guilty of an ethics violation, large or small.
I am proud that, in 1982, I was the first Republican legislator ever elected in Alabama House District 18.
I am proud that, in 1983, I was the first Republican legislator ever elected in Alabama House District 10.
I am proud that, in 2010, I was the first Republican elected in Alabama Congressional District 5 in more than 130 years.
I am proud that, in the history of the State of Alabama, no person has successfully carried the Republican banner in general elections more than I have.
You can imagine my dismay upon learning that Socialist Democrats, without ever even bothering to first discuss this matter with me to discern the truth, and without any substantive and connective evidence, so viciously besmirch my good name and character that took 66 years to build.
It is with that as a background, that I will address how misplaced and malevolent the motives are of those who falsely accuse me of bad conduct.
Accusation Flaw #1:
Mr. Malinowski, in his Censure Resolution, alleges that “Representative Mo Brooks addressed a rally in Washington, DC, attended by numerous members of known extremist and anti-government groups, including the Proud Boys, QAnon, Boogaloo Boys, and Oathkeepers, who would shortly thereafter march to seize the United States Capitol”
That statement is meaningless because it omits a key fact. Mr. Malinowski fails to allege I knew any of that!
Why? Because I did not know any of that.
For the record, I have never knowingly associated or communicated with any of those groups in my life and I certainly had no inkling any of these groups were a part of the Trump rally at the Ellipse. Perhaps, at some political event, I have had a photo with one, or a five second conversation with another, but, if so, I don’t recall it and paid no attention to it.
Per my cell phone records, on Tuesday morning, January 5, I had a telephone call with Brian Jack, White House Political Director. He asked me to speak at the Trump rally the next day, Wednesday morning.
I had never attended a Trump rally in my life but had seen many on TV, and thought it honor for the White House to invite me to address Trump volunteers and supporters, so I readily agreed.
Due to lack of time, I did not draft my speech from scratch.
The bulk of my January 6 White House Ellipse speech comes from my often-used “America is Great” political speeches that I have given dozens of times, perhaps hundreds of times, in my 34 years of public service as a Tuscaloosa assistant district attorney, an Alabama legislator, the Madison County District Attorney, a county commissioner, and U.S. Congressman.
Further, I spoke very early in the political rally. There was music, there was my speech, there was more music, then there was some number of speakers, then a couple hours or so later, President Trump began speaking.
I ask this question, if my remarks were as inspirational as the Socialist Democrats and their Fake News Media allies want the public to believe, why didn’t the Trump rally participants, after my remarks, immediately get up and storm the Capitol?
Why not indeed! The answer is simple. No one at the rally interpreted my remarks to be anything other than what they were: A pep talk after the derriere kicking conservatives suffered in the dismal 2020 elections.
As I will prove later, my remarks were clearly designed to reinvigorate people for the 2022 election cycle that had already begun two months ago and is now only a year away.
Accusation Flaw #2:
Mr. Malinoski’s Censure resolution alleges, “Whereas, Representative Brooks then exhorted the audience: “Today is the day American patriots start taking down names and kicking ass”.
While I did utter those words, what is deceitfully omitted is the immediately preceding sentence, that begins with, “But let’s be clear, regardless of today’s outcome, the 2022 and the 2024 elections are right around the corner.”
This preceding sentence, clearly and unambiguously confirms that my “take names and kicking derrieres” remarks refers to fighting to win elections in 2022 and 2024 and had absolutely nothing to do with the illegal breach of the Capitol that occurred later in the day.
Notably, Mr. Malinoski’s Censure Resolution deceitfully omits the key introductory clause of the “take names” sentence that confirms what I just said. After focusing on winning the 2022 and 2024 elections, the beginning of the next sentence is “As such”. “As such, today is the day American patriots start taking down names and kicking as.”
The phrase “As such” confirms that my “take names” sentence is in the context of the preceding 2022 and 2024 sentence and that I was encouraging people to join our fight to win the 2022 & 2024 elections “Today”.
I was not encouraging anyone to engage in violence. I was encouraging people to begin a 2022 and 2024 election fight!
Accusation Flaw #3.
Mr. Malinoski’s Censure Resolution alleges I “encouraged and incited violence against his fellow Members of Congress, as part of an assault on the United States Capitol.”
That statement is utterly false and beyond contempt.
In addition to the foregoing rebuttals, consider the following:
1. I was in the House Chamber when the attack began! The idea that I would encourage and incite violence” on myself, my friends, and my colleagues is absurd.
2. The Censure resolution (and the Fake News Media) conveniently and deceitfully omit the action I asked rally attendees to undertake: take WORDS (not violence) to the Capitol!
At the start of my speech, I tell the audience quote, “I’ve got a message that I need you to take to your heart, and take back home, and along the way stop at the Capitol.”
My message is NOT violence, it is WORDS. Only the most malevolent or partisan of people would construe my speech otherwise.
At the very end of my speech, I emphasize that:
“What are the simple words we must shout to the heavens and carry, the message, to Capitol Hill? What are the words that cause Socialists and weak-kneed Republicans on Capitol Hill to shake in their boots and cower in their foxholes?
What are the words that scare the hell out of Socialists and weak-kneed Republicans alike?
Join with me! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! Washington! America! Heed those words, because we’re going to carry them right to you.
That is right. I exhorted the Trump rally attendees to bring words, NOT VIOLENCE, to the U.S. Capitol.
And those words are USA, USA, USA.
3. Mr. Malinowski and the Censure Resolution deceitfully attributes to me things that are absolutely false. It asserts, with no credible evidence, a linkage between my words and the illegal breach of the Capitol.
Let me emphasize something in that regard. I have proudly served the people of the Great State of Alabama for 34 years.
I have given hundreds if not thousands of political speeches. I have given dozens if not hundreds of political rally speeches. Not once in those 34 years of speech-giving has anyone been incited to violence. Not once!
As far as I knew, the Trump rally attendees were patriotic Americans who wished to exercise their Constitutional right to freely assemble, freely speak, and freely exercise their Constitutionally guaranteed right to protest.
Certainly, as far as I am aware (and granted I have never previously attended one), no prior Trump rally resulted in violence.
4. I made my speech in front of a bank of TV cameras. The notion that I would give a recorded speech calling for riots and violence is the height of arrogance and stupidity. I called for fighting in the 2022 and 2024 elections
5. The growing evidence is that various Militant groups came to Washington, DC on January 6 to engage in violent acts regardless of speech content.
For example, Mr. Malinowski’s Censure Resolution claims that militant, “extremist and anti-government groups, including the Proud Boys, QAnon, Boogaloo Boys, and Oathkeepers”, helped “seize the United States Capitol”.
One or more of these groups brought pipe bombs, firearms, and other explosive devices with them.
This level or preparation is evidence that violent actions were planned long before my remarks. Ergo, my remarks had nothing to do with the ensuing violent acts.
WHY?
The reckless, defamatory, deceitful nature of the Censure Resolution begs the question of why would Socialist Democrats go to such lengths to deceitfully slander and defame the reputation of an honorable member of the opposition party?
Perhaps I can share a few very plausible motives.
Motive #1: Hypocrisy.
There is no end to the hypocrisy of Socialist Democrats who are so often willing to condemn what they themselves do!
I submit the following quotes, and the absence of any Censureship efforts regarding them, evidence how hypocritical this Censure Resolution is.
In 2019, Congressman Joaquin Castro stated, “We’ll also fight him [Trump] … in the streets!”
In 2020, Congresswoman Maxine Waters stated, “And if you see anybody from that Cabinet in a restaurant, in a department store, at a gasoline station, you get out and you create a crowd, and you push back on them. Any you tell them they’re not welcome anymore, anywhere.”
In 2018, former Attorney General Eric Holder stated, “Michelle [Obama] always says that, you know, ‘When they go low, we go high.’ No. When they go low, we kick them. That’s what this new Democratic Party is about,”
In 2020, Vice-President Elect Kamala Harris encouraged people to help post bail out for violent protestors in Minnesota when she posted, ““If you’re able to, chip in now to the @MNFreedomFund to help post bail for those protesting on the ground in Minnesota.”
In 2020, Congresswoman Cori Bush stated, “We DISRUPT PEACE because lives are on the line. NO, I won’t coddle you or baby you by giving you a peaceful protest. Get a backbone- get some fight in you! We’re putting our lives on the line because black people are and IT STOPS NOW!! NO JUSTICE NO PEACE!!”
If Socialist Democrats were really concerned about stopping the violence, then why do they encourage, rather than discourage, the violence, the looting, the arson, the killings by Black Lives Matter or fascist ANTIFA?
Socialist Democrats are not motivated by justice. They are motivated by political advantage.
Socialist Democrats acquiesce to violence they believe helps them at the polls and engage in fake, manipulative politics when they believe the violence hurts them at the polls.
In contrast, I oppose all violence of the kind we saw last week at the U.S. Capitol and have, as such and on numerous occasions, called for aggressive prosecution of every person who illegally breached Capitol security, regardless of their political motivation for doing so.
Motive #2:
I have evolved into a national leader in the:
Fight against dictatorial Socialism and fight for free enterprise and the freedom and liberty on which freedom is based.
Fight against the killing of unborn babies and fight for life.
Fight against unsustainable deficits that threaten America’s solvency and fight for financial responsibility that threatens to cut off a reliable Socialist Democrat block vote: those people on welfare who prefer to vote for a living rather than work for one.
Fight against Big Tech censorship and Socialist Democrats’ suppression of free speech and fight for freedom of assembly, freedom of religion, freedom of speech and the right to bear arms.
Fight against the voter fraud and election theft so many Socialist Democrats rely on to get elected and fight forhonest and accurate elections.
The burden of being a national leader in the fight for the foundational values that have combined to make America the greatest nation in world history is being a target of deceitful Socialist Democrat politics of personal destruction.
But know this, I am from the Great State of Alabama, where our motto is “We Dare Defend our Rights”.
Socialist Democrats and their Fake News Media Allies won’t get an apology from me because my remarks were not wrong. Conversely, the Socialist Democrats and their Fake News Media Allies should be apologizing to the public for the egregiously and manipulative way they have deceived the public on this issue.
Rest assured; I will never apologize for fighting to win our causes at the ballot box. That is the American way!
I conclude with two famous quotes.
The first is from Jesus, in the King James Bible, Matthew, Chapter 7, Verse 2: “For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged, and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.”
I recommend everyone take these words to heart and very carefully consider them.
The second is from American patriot Martin Luther King, in his Letter from Birmingham Jail, April 16, 1963:
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”
Sean Ross is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn
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