佐治亚州一名行政法法官周五裁定，共和党众议员马乔里·泰勒·格林(Marjorie Taylor Greene)可以继续参加该州第14国会选区的投票，此前她连任候选人资格受到挑战。

一群佐治亚州选民认为，根据第十四修正案的“取消资格条款”，格林没有资格竞选连任，因为她涉嫌支持1月6日对国会大厦的袭击。

在他长达19页的意见中，查尔斯·博德罗特法官说，举证责任在挑战者身上，他们“未能以优势证据证明他们的案件。”

博德罗特还表示，该案的证据不足以证明格林“根据宪法第14修正案参与了叛乱或反叛，或[给予]敌人援助或安慰。”

法官的裁决允许格林留在5月24日的州初选投票中，随后不久，佐治亚州国务卿布拉德·拉芬斯佩格重申了这一裁决，他有最后的发言权。

法官裁决后，格林在推特上加了一个大写的词，“无罪释放。”法官意见的截图。

格林的支持是对一项更大的法律努力的最新打击，该法律努力旨在阻止涉嫌参与或支持国会大厦袭击的当选官员竞选连任。

格林的法庭听证会当天，亚利桑那州法官驳回了对亚利桑那州共和党代表保罗·戈萨和安迪·比格斯的类似挑战。

格林判决经过ABC新闻政治在Scribd上

在Raffensperger采纳了法官的裁决后，代表挑战者的组织发表了一份声明，称“该决定背叛了第十四修正案取消资格条款的根本目的，并让政治暴力成为破坏和推翻自由公平选举的工具。”

该组织表示将对该决定提起上诉。

内战后通过的取消资格条款禁止任何“参与叛乱”反对美国或“给予援助或安慰”其“敌人”的人担任联邦职务，如果他们先前宣誓保护宪法。这包括国会议员。

在格林听证会的开场陈述中，代表五名选民的律师和人民言论自由组织的法律总监罗恩·费恩(Ron Fein)辩称，1月6日是一场叛乱，格林是其领导人之一。

通过AP共享

众议员马乔里·泰勒·格林准备于2022年4月22日在亚特兰大作证。

“这不是那种领导人站在弗吉尼亚州里士满发表长篇大论的起义，”费恩说。“更确切地说，这场暴动的领导人(有很多人)就在我们中间——在脸书、推特和社交媒体的角落里，这会让你反胃。证据将显示马乔里·泰勒·格林是其中之一。”

“反对马乔里·泰勒·格林参选的最有力的证人，证明她越界参与叛乱的最有力的证人，就是马乔里·泰勒·格林本人，”他说。

格林的律师詹姆斯·博普在开庭陈述中称，佐治亚州第14国会选区的选民“有权投票给他们选择的候选人”。他们有权让他们的投票被计算在内，”他补充说，格林不是肇事者，而是袭击的“受害者”，他认为袭击是“卑鄙的”，但不是叛乱。

“她的生命处于危险之中，她想，”Bopp说。“她既害怕又困惑。

格林说，在一级防范禁闭期间，她走进衣帽间，制作了一段针对冲击国会大厦者的视频。

“遵守法律，”格林在视频中说，该视频也在法庭上播放。“现在不是暴力的时候。这是一个支持特朗普总统、支持选举诚信的时刻。上帝保佑。”

格林一再否认她或她的办公室在1月6日的集会之前带抗议者参观或会见抗议者，也否认她提供了国会大厦的地图。

“我必须就我的竞选活动与人们交谈，但我不认为我们做到了，”她说。“我们会怎么做呢?我们没有做那样的事情。”

她还坚持说，她不记得自己发过推文，也没有在社交媒体上发过其他帖子作为证据，也不记得法庭上视频监视器上显示的她许多陈述的背景。

当选民的另一名律师安德鲁·切利(Andrew Celli)追问格林，她是否鼓励前总统唐纳德·特朗普(Donald Trump)在骚乱后实施戒严令时，听证会变得激烈起来。

“你在2020年选举和2021年1月20日之间与他见过面，对吗?”他问。

“是的，”格林回答道。

“在那些会议中，你和他讨论了你的主张，即应该在美国宣布戒严令?”切利催促道。

“不，我不记得曾经讨论过那个，”她回答。

“你是说这件事没有发生，还是说你不记得这件事了?”切利继续说道。

“我不记得曾经讨论过那个，”格林重复道。

Bopp反对这一系列的提问，但是法官允许继续提问。

塞利然后问格林，在乔·拜登总统就职典礼之前，她是否曾在与时任参谋长马克·梅多斯或特朗普的谈话中倡导戒严令。

“我不记得了，”格林说。

后来出现的证据显示格林确实有与梅多斯的对话鼓吹戒严令让川普继续掌权。

2021年1月17日，在亲特朗普的暴徒袭击美国国会大厦试图阻止投票认证的11天后，格林发短信给梅多斯说:“在我们只与成员进行的私人聊天中，有几个人说，拯救我们共和国的唯一方法是特朗普呼吁马歇尔法[原文如此]。”

“我不知道那些东西，”格林继续说。“我只是想让你告诉他。他们偷走了这次选举。我们都知道。他们接下来会摧毁我们的国家。请告诉他尽可能多地解密，这样我们就可以追捕拜登和其他任何人了!”

Judge rules GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene can stay on ballot

An administrative law judge in Georgia on Friday ruled that GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene can stay on the ballot for the state's 14th Congressional District following a challenge to her reelection candidacy.

A group of Georgia voters had argued that Greene was not eligible to run for reelection under the "disqualification clause" of the Fourteenth Amendment due to her alleged support for the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

In his 19-page opinion, Judge Charles Beaudrot said that the burden of proof is on the challengers and that they "failed to prove their case by a preponderance of the evidence."

Beaudrot also said that the evidence in the case was insufficient to establish that Greene "engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or [gave] aid or comfort to the enemies thereof under the 14th Amendment to the Constitution."

The judge's ruling allowing Greene to stay on the ballot for the state's May 24 primary was reaffirmed shortly afterward by Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who had the final say.

Greene took to Twitter following the judge's ruling, adding one word in all caps, "ACQUITTED." to a screenshot of the judge's opinion.

The ruling Greene's favor is the latest blow to a larger legal effort to prevent elected officials who allegedly were involved or supported the attack on the Capitol from running for reelection.

The day of Greene’s court hearing, an Arizona judge dismissed similar challenges against Arizona GOP Reps. Paul Gosar and Andy Biggs.

Following Raffensperger adopting the judge's ruling, Free Speech for People, the organization representing the challengers released a statement saying that the "decision betrays the fundamental purpose of the Fourteenth Amendment's Disqualification Clause and gives a pass to political violence as a tool for disrupting and overturning free and fair elections."

The group said it would appeal the decision.

Passed after the Civil War, the disqualification clause bars any person who has "engaged in insurrection" against the United States or "given aid or comfort" to its "enemies" from holding federal office if they have previously taken an oath to protect the Constitution. That includes members of Congress.

In his opening statement at Greene's hearing, Ron Fein, a lawyer representing the five voters and the legal director of Free Speech For People, argued Jan. 6 was an insurrection and was Greene was one of its leaders.

"This was not the type of insurrection where the leaders were standing in Richmond, Virginia, giving long-winded speeches," Fein said. "Rather, the leaders of this insurrection, of whom there were a number, were among us -- on Facebook, Twitter and corners of social media that would make your stomach hurt. The evidence will show that Marjorie Taylor Greene was one of them."

"The most powerful witness against Marjorie Taylor Greene's candidacy, the most powerful witness in establishing that she crossed the line into engagement of insurrection, is Marjorie Taylor Greene herself," he said.

In his opening statement, Greene's attorney James Bopp, argued that the voters of Georgia's 14th Congressional District have the "right to vote for the candidate of their choosing. And they have a right to have their vote counted," adding that Greene was not a perpetrator but a "victim" of the attack, which he argued was "despicable" but not an insurrection.

"Her life was in danger, she thought," Bopp said. "She was scared and confused.

Greene said that while in lockdown she went inside the cloakroom and made a video directed at those storming the Capitol.

"Obey the law," Greene said in the video, also played in the courtroom. "This is not a time for violence. This is a time to support president trump and support election integrity. God bless."

Greene repeatedly denied that she or her office gave tours to or met with protesters ahead of the Jan. 6 rally or that she provided maps of the Capitol building.

"I would have to talk to people on my campaign, but I don't think we did," she said. "How would we have done that? We didn't do anything like that."

She also insisted she didn't recall sending tweets and making other social media posts presented as evidence, or the circumstances around many of her statements that were shown on a video monitor in the courtroom.

The hearing heated up when Andrew Celli, another lawyer for the voters, pressed Greene about whether she encouraged former President Donald Trump to impose martial law after the riot.

"And you had meetings with him between the election in 2020 and January 20th of 2021, right?" he asked.

"Yes," Greene responded.

"And in those meetings, you discussed with him your advocacy for the idea that there should be martial law declared in the United States?" Celli pressed.

"No, I don't recall ever discussing that," she responded.

"Are you saying it didn't happen or you're saying you don't recall one way or the other?" Celli continued.

"I don't recall ever discussing that," Greene repeated.

Bopp objected to the line of questioning, but the judge allowed it to continue.

Celli then asked Greene whether she ever advocated for martial law in conversations with then-chief of staff Mark Meadows or Trump prior to President Joe Biden's inauguration.

"I don't recall," Greene said.

Evidence later emerged showing Greene did haveconversations with Meadowsadvocating for martial law to keep Trump in power.

"In our private chat with only Members, several are saying the only way to save our Republic is for Trump to call for Marshall law [sic]," Greene texted Meadows on Jan. 17, 2021, 11 days after the pro-Trump mob attacked the U.S. Capitol to try to stop the certification of the vote.

"I don't know on those things," Greene continued. "I just wanted you to tell him. They stole this election. We all know. They will destroy our country next. Please tell him to declassify as much as possible so we can go after Biden and anyone else!"