Senate silences Elizabeth Warren for ‘impugning motive or conduct’ of AG nominee Jeff Sessions

Joe NewbyFebruary 8, 2017

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On Tuesday, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., also known as “Fauxcahontas,” was silenced by the Senate after she impugned the the character of Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., Pres. Trump’s Attorney General nominee.

According to the Daily Caller:

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell shut down Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren during a Senate floor speech on Tuesday, accusing the Democrat of violating Senate rules by criticizing their colleague and attorney general nominee, Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions.

Warren was warned early on in her remarks by Montana Sen. Steve Daines, the Republican overseeing the floor speeches, after she quoted Coretta Scott King, the late widow of Martin Luther King, Jr.

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Warren quoted King asserting that Sessions had “exhibited so much hostility to the enforcement” of voting rights laws for blacks.

Daines struck his gavel and reprimanded Warren, who is one of a handful of Democrats who plan an all-night Senate floor session to oppose the Trump nominee.

“The senator is reminded that it is a violation of Rule 19 of the standing rules of the Senate to ‘impute to another senator or senators any conduct or motive unworthy or becoming a senator,” Daines said.

After being told she could proceed, Warren began reading a 1986 letter written by Coretta Scott King:

My longstanding commitment which I shared with my husband, Martin, to protect and enhance the rights of Black Americans, rights which include equal access toithe democratic process, compels me to testify today.

Civil rights leaders, including my husband and Albert Turner, have fought long and hard to achieve free and unfettered access to the ballot box. Mr. Sessions has used-the awesome power of his office to chill the free exercise of the vote by black citizens in the district he now seeks to serve as a federal judge. This simply cannot be allowed to happen. Mr. Session’s conduct as U.S. Attorney, from his politically-motivated voting fraud prosecutions to his indifference toward criminal violations of civil rights laws, indicates that he lacks the temperament, fairness and judgment to be a federal judge.

Breitbart added:

Warren also included lines from the cover letter: “Mr. Sessions has used the awesome powers of his office in a shabby attempt to intimidate and frighten elderly black voters. For this reprehensible conduct, he should not be rewarded with a federal judgeship.”

The first warning came 20 minutes into her floor speech and was roughly 50 minutes in, when Majority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell (R.-Ky.) took over control of the floor. It is a privilege of the majority leader that he is recognized at any time.

The Massachusetts senator was stunned at first — not sure why McConnell was speaking in the middle of reading an editorial from the Bedford Minuteman, a paper based in that wealthy suburb of Boston.

“The senator has impugned the motives and conduct of our colleague from Alabama as warned by the chair. Senator Warren, quote-said, ‘Sessions has used the awesome power of his office to chill the free exercise of the vote by black citizens.’ I call the Senate to order under the provisions of Rule XIX,” McConnell said.

Daines ruled that Warren was out of order. The Senate voted 49-to-43 to sustain the chair’s ruling and then said in a 50-to-43 vote that Warren could not continue her floor speech.

Here’s a video from the incident:

Warren then whined on Twitter:

Tonight @SenateMajLdr silenced Mrs King's voice on the Sen floor – & millions who are afraid & appalled by what's happening in our country.

— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) February 8, 2017

No, Liz, YOU were silenced for violating Senate rules by impugning another senator. What’s even more ironic is the fact that it wasn’t that long ago when the Massachusetts Democrat demanded the SEC help her ban free speech.

https://twitter.com/RepStevenSmith/status/829141443285499904

Warren then whined to MSNBC hack Rachel Maddow that she’d been “red-carded” by McConnell:

?? Elizabeth Warren speaks exclusively to @maddow about her silencing by Mitch McConnell: "I've been red-carded." https://t.co/JCzYrNnfMT

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) February 8, 2017

Democrat Chris Murphy threatened:

I am speaking later tonight. I will be talking about Sessions' record. With gusto. Go ahead and rule me out of order. https://t.co/CL30xHQbM2

— Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) February 8, 2017

If you break the rules, you should be ruled out of order. Deal with it.