Rep. Eric Swalwell compared President Trump’s conduct during the Jan. 6 Capitol Hill raid to that of terrorist leader Osama bin Laden.
The California Democrat, who will be serving as a House impeachment manager, made the remarks during an interview with PBS NewsHour on Wednesday afternoon as the lower chamber was engaging in debate about an article of impeachment accusing Trump of inciting insurrection. Anchor Judy Woodruff began by mentioning those who draw a distinction between the president’s words and the actions of the violent rioters.
“[Some are] saying holding him accountable is different from the people who directly were involved in tearing down the doors and rampaging the Capitol building,” she noted.
Swalwell, who has faced intense scrutiny after it was revealed he was targeted by a suspected Chinese spy, responded by juxtaposing the actions of the leader of the free world on Jan. 6 with those of Bin Laden ahead of the Sept. 11 attacks.
“Well, Osama Bin Laden did not enter U.S. soil on Sept. 11, but it was widely acknowledged that he was responsible for inspiring the attack on our country. And the president, with his words, using the word ‘fight’ … that is hate speech that inspired and radicalized people to storm the capital,” he said.
When asked directly whether he was comparing Trump to Bin Laden, Swalwell demurred, repeating his claim that the former encouraged the violence that broke out in the halls of Congress.
“I’m comparing the words of a individual who would incite and radicalize somebody, as Osama Bin Laden did, to what President Trump did. You don’t actually have to commit the violence yourself, but if you call others to violence, that itself is a crime,” he responded.
Bin Laden was killed at his compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, in a CIA-planned U.S. special forces raid that was carried out by SEAL Team Six when they disembarked from two MH-60 Black Hawks on May 2, 2011.
The impeachment motion is the second impeachment effort after a Dec. 2019 bid failed when the Senate declined to convict Trump on two Ukraine-related allegations.
Efforts to remove Trump prior to President-elect Joe Biden’s Jan. 20 inauguration are gaining momentum, with more than 180 House Democrats and at least five Republicans pledging to vote in support of impeachment. The article would then be delivered to the Senate, where two-thirds of members would need to vote accordingly in order for Trump to be removed from office.
The Senate is not currently scheduled to reconvene until Jan. 19, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has told Minority Leader Chuck Schumer that he does not intend to take up the impeachment article prior to that date, leaving the upper chamber just one day to consider the charge prior to the expiration of Trump’s term.
If convicted, Trump would be the first president removed from office via the rarely invoked constitutional mechanism.
