Democrats continue to be whipped up in their frenzy over the Capitol riot on January 6. They didn't stop with trying to get former President Donald Trump banned from office, and are now going after other Republican lawmakers. Rep. Jim Banks, who represents Indiana's 3rd Congressional District, responded on Thursday night to a "frivolous filing" from his Democratic opponent, Aaron "AJ" Calkins, that seeks to make Banks ineligible for his office.
A copy of the filing challenge that was obtained by Townhall was filed by Calkins on February 6, 2022 in Allen County. A notary public stamped it the following day. In the section where Calkins is asked to explain how "the following facts are known to me and lead me to believe that the individual listed above is ineligible to be a candidate for this office," there isn't a whole lot of detail provided.
Calkins had merely written "Violation of 14th Amendment Supporting An Insurrection."
Rep. Banks had nothing but strong words for the challenge.
"I’m running for re-election to fight against Joe Biden’s dangerous agenda and champion Hoosier values. This is a joke allegation that will be quickly dismissed and ignored by voters in northeast Indiana," Banks said.
The congressman also spoke to Democratic efforts to ban Trump from office. "Unfortunately, Democrats have tried to turn a serious tragedy into a political tool to strip Americans of their civil liberties and even their right to vote for their preferred candidate. Democrats’ top elections lawyer promoted the same bogus theory in a clear attempt to ban President Trump from office and disenfranchise 74 million Americans," he continued.
The January 6th select committee also found its way into Banks' statement. "Since Nancy Pelosi blocked me from the sham January 6th Committee, I've been leading the fight against their partisan harassment campaigns. That's why they're targeting me, but I won't back down."
Banks was one of several members that House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) named to serve on the select committee, and would have been the ranking member. When House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) vetoed Banks and Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), McCarthy pulled all his picks.
The Republican members who serve on the select committee, Reps. Liz Cheney (WY) and Adam Kinzinger (IL), the former who is the vice chair, were both selected by Pelosi. Banks has criticized at length how the select committee is compromised of no members named by the minority party.
While Banks voted to object to the certification of the 2020 presidential election in Pennsylvania and Arizona, citing election rule changes in those states, objecting to presidential elections is nothing new. Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS), who chairs the select committee, objected to the 2004 presidential election results.
Banks was first elected to his seat in 2016, by 70.1 percent to Democratic Tommy Schrader's 23 percent. He won his most recent race in 2020 by 67.7 percent.
Last December, Democratic election lawyer Marc Elias predicted there would be such challenges for the upcoming midterms. Elias was hired by former Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D-VA) in his failed gubernatorial run for 2021 and has also filed challenges to election integrity laws passed in the states, such as those in Georgia.
My prediction for 2022: Before the midterm election, we will have a serious discussion about whether individual Republican House Members are disqualified by Section 3 of the 14th Amendment from serving in Congress.
— Marc E. Elias (@marceelias) December 21, 2021
We may even see litigation. pic.twitter.com/pF7P2fw0kn
Elias was thoroughly mocked last April for a since-deleted tweet that claimed Georgia voters would not know how to properly submit their ID to vote by mail. He is currently involved in partisan redistricting efforts from Democrats in their quest to gerrymander their way into suffering as least catastrophic losses as possible come this November.
Trying and failing to ban Trump from holding office again through his second impeachment trial, which took place after he had already left office and President Joe Biden was already sworn in, is also not going away. As John Kruzel reported for The Hill last month, on the anniversary of January 6, "Democrats quietly explore barring Trump from office over Jan. 6." Like Calkins, they are citing the 14th Amendment.
Banks is not the only member targeted. As Lexi Lonas reported on Wednesday for The Hill, the North Carolina Election Board says it has the power to ban Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) from running for office over January 6. Lonas noted that "Cawthorn filed a lawsuit after a group of liberal activists began attempting to get him barred from office due to what they say were disqualifying actions leading up to the Capitol riot."