Update: Sen. Warren addressed the latest controversy on Wednesday and told reporters that when she labeled herself an "American Indian," that is what she "grew up believing" and that was her "family story." She also said the story she's told has been "consistent." Yet, looking back, Warren regrets that she wasn't more "mindful of the distinction of tribal citizenship." She admitted she does not have tribal citizenship and apologized for it.
When asked by reporters if there are more documents in which she self-identified as “American Indian,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) says identifying as “American Indian” was “consistent” with her actions at the time. pic.twitter.com/fb7mpc1gDR
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) February 6, 2019
Original Post
Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel has filed a grievance against Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) with the State Bar of Texas after Tuesday's revelation that Warren claimed to be American Indian on the registration card she filled out in 1986. The Washington Post obtained the document, which gave us the first instance of Warren claiming Native American heritage in handwriting.
"Attorney Warren should be disciplined for lying and failing to correct a misrepresentation," McDaniel writes to the State Bar.
The chairwoman goes on to cite language from the Texas Disciplinary Rules Of Professional Conduct, which clearly notes that an applicant to the bar shall not "knowingly make a false statement of material fact" or "fail to correct a misapprehension known by the person to have arisen in the matter, or knowingly fail to respond to a lawful demand for information from an admission, reinstatement, or disciplinary authority, except that this rule does not require disclosure of information otherwise protected." The RNC chair also quotes the bar's rules of admission, which demand applicants demonstrate “Good Moral Character and Fitness."
Warren, McDaniel writes, did not check any of those boxes.
"Attorney Warren is now apologizing for misrepresenting herself as an “American Indian” or Native American throughout her career," McDaniel wrote. "It has now been thirty-three (33) years since she made this representation to the Texas Bar and has never made an attempt to correct her registration card. Therefore it is clear that Attorney Warren lacked the “Good Moral Character” required for admission to the Texas Bar and should be disciplined for her three (3) decades of untruthfulness."
Before the State Bar of Texas discovery, we learned that Warren had used her supposed Native American ancestry to gain a position on Harvard University's staff. This past fall Warren tried to double down and prove her ancestry with DNA results. But after the Cherokee Nation shared its frustrations with her, she apologized for the stunt.
They now want her to issue another one.
Rebecca Nagle, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, told CNN’s Brooke Baldwin that Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) “needs to make a public apology” after falsely claiming to be Native American. pic.twitter.com/yICQ4zoFET
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) February 6, 2019
This post has been updated.