The House Ethics Committee ruled against starting a probe into Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) for pulling a House office building fire alarm in September.
Court documents in the D.C. Superior Court say the New York lawmaker knowingly pulled the fire alarm in the Cannon House Office Building on Sept. 30 while the House prepared to vote on stopgap government funding legislation that Democrats were attempting to postpone.
Mr. Bowman spoke to reporters about the Sept. 30 incident before entering the courthouse, asserting that he wasn’t trying to “disrupt” official government proceedings with his actions.
As to pulling the alarm, the lawmaker said: “I admitted that from the very beginning. So, you know, got to take responsibility.”
In its press release, the Ethics Committee explained that its rules stipulate they have 30 days from when a member of the House was indicted or otherwise formally charged with criminal conduct to either establish an Investigative Subcommittee (ISC) or report to the House why they opted to not establishing an ISC.
However, in order to establish an ISC, the committee is required to have an affirmative vote of a majority of the members of the committee, which they did not obtain, regarding Mr. Bowman’s conduct.
At the time of the fire alarm incident, House Democrats were attempting to delay a vote on a funding bill to keep federal agencies open, claiming that they needed more time to examine a bill that Republicans had released unexpectedly to prevent a government shutdown.
The funding measure was ultimately approved with the support of a majority of Republicans and nearly all Democrats, including Mr. Bowman.
The affidavit in support of the arrest warrant for Mr. Bowman notes that the alarm led to the evacuation of the building.
The document pointed to security footage that showed Mr. Bowman approaching a set of doors and, after he attempts to exit, pulling the fire alarm, then walking away from the exit doors.
Mr. Bowman previously acknowledged activating the alarm at the time but denied intentionally doing so for the purpose of delaying the vote, saying that he mistakenly thought the pull-down trigger in the alarm box would open the door.
He also said that he was in a panic to return to the floor for the vote.
Republicans have criticized Mr. Bowman, calling his explanation an “excuse” and pointing out that he passed multiple police officers without informing them that he had activated the alarm.
Mr. Bowman stated that he didn’t inform officers of the error because he was in a rush to cast the ballot and didn’t want to delay it. The case was filed by the attorney general’s office of the District of Columbia, which stated that Mr. Bowman was “treated like anyone else who violates the law.”
The lawmaker told reporters that there was “a deal in place,” and he was “looking forward to paying the fine and three months later being dismissed” and continuing to work.
The lack of an investigation does not absolve Representative Bowman of the criminal charges, and the legal proceedings initiated by the D.C. Attorney General’s Office will continue independently of the committee’s decision.
Mr. Bowman’s office did not immediately respond to The Epoch Times’ request for comment.
