Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) testified on Nov. 2 in a case that seeks to prevent former President Donald Trump from being allowed to appear on the ballot in the state of Colorado in 2024. Mr. Buck is testifying on behalf of attorneys for President Trump’s campaign.
The central question, in this case, is whether or not President Trump’s conduct and comments during and before the Capitol breach on Jan. 6 could be construed as violating a provision of the 14th Amendment that bars someone from holding federal office if they participate in or assist in an insurrection.
The plaintiffs have contended that President Trump’s actions provided support for the protesters who finally stormed the Capitol building during Congress’s formal tally of the Electoral College votes in the 2020 election.
Mr. Buck provided a description of the tumultuous situation that took place on Jan. 6 as Capitol Police sought to seal the House chamber from protesters who were coming.
He said he didn’t have phone reception and wasn’t aware of the disturbances, so he positioned himself to assist police in fending off what he imagined would be a small number of demonstrators.
“I came back to my office rather than the secure committee room, and I saw on TV what was going on, and I thought, ‘Oh my goodness, there are a lot of people out there,’” he said.
Mr. Buck was the second lawmaker to testify in the case; Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) testified on Oct. 30 about what he did and saw that day.
Lawyers for President Trump’s campaign used Mr. Buck’s testimony to take aim at the House Select Committee on Jan. 6, whose report is central to the plaintiffs’ case.
Only two Republicans, then-Reps. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) and Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.)—selected by then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.)—were seated on the nine-member committee amid feuds between the two parties over the body’s membership.
Mr. Buck agreed with Trump attorney Scott Gessler’s broad assessment that the final committee report is “incomplete” and has “one perspective,” and that it should not be relied on as evidence since it does not include the perspective of many Republicans on the Capitol breach.
“There was a political purpose to that report, as there is with almost everything in Congress, and the political purpose was ultimately to win elections and to paint the one side in as bad a light as possible,” Mr. Buck said. “And that’s why typically there is a minority report in an investigation like this.”
Mr. McCarthy promised a probe into the committee’s findings, but it lacked the authority to compel witnesses in the same way that the committee did, as Mr. Buck pointed out: “It’s my view that the people that would have been most challenging to the evidence and testimony were not seated ... I think in order to be able to judge someone’s culpability you’ve got to be able to hear both sides of the story. And in this case, there was not another side.”
In his video, Mr. Buck said, “Americans are rightfully concerned about our nation’s future and are looking to Republicans in Washington for a course correction,” going on to assert that the country is “on a collision course with reality.”
Mr. Buck then pointed the finger at members of his own party, saying: “Too many Republican leaders are lying to America—claiming that the 2020 election was stolen, describing Jan. 6 as an unguided tour of the Capitol, and asserting that the ensuing prosecutions are weaponization of our justice system. These insidious narratives breed widespread cynicism and erode Americans confidence in the rule of law.”
