The Heritage Foundation has filed an ethics complaint against Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA) after she accused legal expert Amy Swearer of perjury at a hearing last month.
The conservative think tank announced the complaint Thursday and said it wanted to hold Porter accountable for a line of questioning during a gun control hearing before the House Oversight and Reform Committee on June 8. Porter questioned Swearer about answers she gave to Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) in a hearing in 2019 and attempted to show that Swearer lied under oath about the effects of a gun control bill.
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“This accusation of perjury lacked any reasonable basis in fact, did not constitute fair comment, and amounted to defamation per se,” the complaint reads. “Rep. Porter grossly abused her privileges under the Speech and Debate Clause to publicly slander Ms. Swearer with impunity, affording her no recourse or ability to defend herself and her reputation.”
??: How desperate are members of the left to smear 2nd Amendment supporters like @AmySwearer and ban constitutionally protected firearms like the AR-15?
Well, as @RepKatiePorter just demonstrated, they’re desperate enough to falsely accuse conservatives of perjury. pic.twitter.com/ApV84p9iS0
— Heritage Foundation (@Heritage) June 8, 2022
The complaint asks that Porter be reprimanded for “intentionally defaming a congressional witness,” asks all lawmakers to be reminded that they may disagree with witnesses but cannot accuse them of perjury, and that Porter’s accusations be stricken from the record.
“Members of Congress like Katie Porter need to be reminded whom they serve, and put back in their place when they overstep,” Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts said in a statement. “If Ms. Porter is interested in an authentic conversation about Second Amendment rights and the intricacies of various firearm legislation, we are more than willing to help educate her.”
Porter’s office said the congresswoman said Swearer “falsely testified under oath,” which is not the same as a perjury accusation.
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“Like Mr. Roberts, Congresswoman Porter believes that policy debates are part of healthy democracy. To have those debates, we must have shared facts,” said Porter spokesman Jordan Wong in a statement to the Washington Examiner. “And the facts here are clear: Ms. Swearer’s claim that gun violence prevention legislation would make Americans ‘become felons overnight’ is misleading and unsubstantiated. She should not have given that testimony, under oath, to Congress.”
Tensions ran high at the June 8 hearing, which took place a few weeks after the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, that left 19 children dead.
