By
Plaintiffs in the lawsuit challenging Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s re-election eligibility are seeking to add a text message she reportedly sent in the aftermath of the Jan. 6 attack to the case.
In a court filing Tuesday, attorneys from Free Speech for People, the advocacy group representing Georgia voters in the lawsuit, say the text “may materially impact the case.” The lawsuit alleges the Georgia Republican cannot lawfully run for re-election because she engaged in an insurrection or rebellion. (Greene has denied participating in the planning of the Capitol riot.)
The court filing asked the judge to add as supplementary evidence a text Greene reportedly sent to then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows suggesting that then-President Donald Trump should consider imposing “Marshall law” — an apparent misspelling of martial law. Doing so would authorize the military to help keep Trump in power even though he lost the 2020 election.
Here’s the reported text the plaintiffs want added as evidence:
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. I don’t know on those things. 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!
Greene seemed to develop a case of amnesia during her testimony last week. As my colleague Steve Benen wrote for MaddowBlog, Greene repeatedly said she couldn’t remember her reported interactions with White House officials related to efforts to overturn the 2020 election, including reports she urged Trump to invoke martial law.
Like many observers, lawyers for the plaintiffs were highly skeptical of those remarks when she made them. The leaked texts only affirmed their beliefs, according to the filing:
Greene’s testimony at the hearing that she could not remember discussing martial law with anyone was already dubious. This text with President Trump’s Chief of Staff makes her testimony even more incredible because it seems like the kind of message with the kind of recipient that a reasonable person testifying truthfully would remember.
In addition to undermining the credibility of her testimony, the lawyers said adding the text as evidence would prove “the lengths to which she was willing to go to help Mr. Trump remain in power.” It certainly appears to show the desperation with which Greene sought extreme means of circumventing American democracy.
Read the court filing here: