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A28 u.s. news
Diasabra 23 aPriL 2022

Marjorie Taylor Greene hostile in testimony over eligibility

While Greene wasn’t on the that reference as a call to vio- calm, he said.
steps of the Capitol, she nev- lence, Greene said that wasn’t
ertheless played an important her intention and that she “Rep. Greene was a victim of
role in stoking Republican was talking about her plans to this attack,” Bopp said, add-
fury ahead of the attack, Fein object to the certification of ing that she believed her life
said. electoral votes. could be in danger.

Unlike the Civil War and “I was talking about the cour- Dozens of Greene supporters
other insurrections that in- age to object,” she said. attended the hearing, includ-
volved military uniforms and ing U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz,
tactics, he said, “The lead- Celli appeared to grow frus- a Florida Republican and
ers of this insurrection were trated at times when she staunch Greene ally.
among us, on Facebook, on didn’t directly answer his
Twitter, on corners of social questions and said he was In a statement Thursday,
media that would make your speculating. Trump incorrectly blamed
stomach hurt.” Raffensperger and Georgia
(AP) — U.S. Rep. Marjorie tified that she has never en- “Ms. Greene, I’m just asking Gov. Brian Kemp, both Re-
Taylor Greene was hostile dorsed violence. Andrew Celli, a lawyer for questions,” he said. publicans, for allowing the
during testimony Friday Greene is set to appear on the the voters, cross-examined challenge against Greene,
in a hearing on her eligi- Republican ballot for Geor- Greene about posts on her “I’m just answering,” she re- saying she is “going through
bility to run for reelection, gia’s May 24 primary and social media accounts. When sponded. hell in their attempt to unseat
saying she did not remem- has been endorsed by former asked about the fact that her.”
ber liking and making President Donald Trump. her Facebook account had, James Bopp, a lawyer for
various social media posts The administrative law judge in 2019, “liked” a post call- Greene, said his client “did In fact, the challenge to
surrounding the attack on overseeing the hearing is ing for Democratic House not engage in the attack on Greene’s eligibility to run for
the U.S. Capitol last year not the ultimate decider of Speaker Nancy Pelosi to be the Capitol,” and the chal- reelection was filed by five
and accusing an opposing Greene’s candidacy since he shot in the head, Greene said lengers are making a very se- voters who live in her dis-
lawyer of speculating and must present his findings to she had no memory of doing rious charge with significant trict, and the procedure for
twisting her words. Republican Secretary of State that and said someone else ramifications. such a challenge is outlined
Brad Raffensperger, who could have been responsible. in Georgia law.
Voters in the Georgia con- then must determine wheth- “They want to deny the right
gresswoman’s district have er Greene is qualified. Whenever Celli suggested to vote to the thousands of The law says any voter who’s
said Greene helped facilitate that she’d endorsed the use people living in the 14th Dis- eligible to vote for a candidate
the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection Greene has repeatedly de- of violence to interrupt the trict of Georgia by removing can challenge that candidate’s
that disrupted certification of nied aiding or engaging in an certification of the electoral Greene from the ballot,” he qualifications by filing a writ-
President Joe Biden’s victory, insurrection and has filed a votes, Greene asserted she said. ten complaint. The secretary
making her ineligible for re- lawsuit alleging that the law doesn’t support violence and of state then has to request a
election under a rarely cited the voters are using to chal- was encouraging peaceful Greene met with Trump hearing before an administra-
section of the 14th Amend- lenge her eligibility is itself protest. about making objections to tive law judge.
ment dealing with “insurrec- unconstitutional. certain states’ electoral votes
tion or rebellion.” Celli played a clip of an inter- because of concerns about Raffensperger and Kemp
But Ron Fein, a lawyer for view Greene did Jan. 5, 2021, voter fraud, Bopp said. At both attracted Trump’s wrath
But Greene — who, the day the voters who filed the chal- in which she said this is “our the time of the riot, she was shortly after the 2020 election
before the Capitol riot, pro- lenge, said Greene took an 1776 moment.” When Celli in a dark hallway at the Capi- when they refused to take
claimed on TV that this is oath and then broke it by asked if she was aware that tol urging people via social steps to overturn Trump’s
“our 1776 moment” — tes- engaging in an insurrection. some Trump supporters used media to be safe and remain narrow loss in the state.

NYC reservoir releases raise worries about stormier future

(AP) — As western regions con- river.” north of Manhattan and is the second
tend with drier conditions, largest of city’s 19 reservoirs. It was The current controversy revolves
New York City is under fire for The tensions between upstate resi- created more than a century ago by around interim rules that allow large
sometimes releasing hundreds dents and the city of 8.8 million peo- damming the Esopus Creek, displac- water releases — up to 600 million
of millions of gallons of water a ple to the south touch on how the ing low-lying communities and seed- gallons a day — from the Ashokan
day from a key reservoir in the largest unfiltered water supply in the ing long-lasting local resentments through a channel that links to the
Catskill Mountains. country will operate in an expected over issues like watershed land-use lower Esopus.
stormier future. Opponents pushing restrictions.
The occasional releases, often around for changes to the water releases got
storms, have been used to manage a boost recently when state regulators
water levels in the Ashokan Reservoir told the city to take a deeper look at
and to keep the water clear. But resi- their effects.
dents downstream say the periodic
surges cause ecological harm along City officials say they’re trying to
the lower Esopus Creek. They say strike the difficult balance of re-
the high flows churn up the water sponding to downstream concerns
so much it turns the scenic Hudson while delivering quality water.
River tributary into the color of choc-
olate milk. “If there was an easy solution to all
this that could satisfy everyone’s con-
“These people can afford to offer New cerns, including ours, we’d be happy
York City cheap, clean, beautiful wa- to do it,” said Paul Rush, deputy com-
ter by destroying ours,” said Michael missioner for the city’s Department
Vallarella, who lives on the creek in of Environmental Protection. “But
Saugerties. Standing on his back deck this is a really difficult problem.”
recently, he swiped through pictures
on his phone of the water looking The Ashokan Reservoir sits by rolling
like “Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory mountains 80 miles (130 kilometers)