January 6 Panel Considers Rewriting the 1807 Insurrection Act Amid Fears of a Donald Trump Repeat

The January 6 panel is currently discussing the possibility of rewriting the 1807 Insurrection Act, a measure that gives the president wide authority to deploy the military within the U.S. to respond to a rebellion.

According to Daily Mail, the House select committee's discussions are preliminary, as some saw a doomsday type scenario where a "future rogue president" might try to use the military to start an insurrection. However, others expressed concern about removing the power of a president to immediately deploy armed troops.

Former President Donald Trump has never invoked the law as president. However, Trump threatened to use it against protesters in Lafayette Square who were protesting the police killing of George Floyd.

Trump adviser Stephen Miller also proposed using it at the southwestern border. But the idea was rejected by Defense Secretary Mark Esper at the time.

January 6 Panel on 1807 Insurrection Act

According to New York Times, Rep. Zoe Lofgren, a member of the January 6 committee, said many of them see that the Insurrection Act needs a review. She noted that the former president has threatened to invoke it multiple times throughout 2020.

People close to Donald Trump were reportedly pushing him to invoke the act to stay in office. Michael Flynn, Trump's first national security adviser, attended a meeting in December 2020, wherein participants talked about seizing voting machines, declaring a national emergency, and invoking certain national security emergency powers.

A long-time confidant of Trump, Roger J. Stone Jr., also floated the idea. In an interview, Stone told conspiracy theorist Alex Jones that the former president should consider invoking the Insurrection Act.

Leader of the Oath Keepers militia group, Stewart Rhodes, wrote an open letter to Trump in December 2020, urging him to use the Insurrection Act to "stop the steal," start seizing voting data and order a new election.

Republicans have insisted that Congress should not amend the Insurrection Act, arguing that it would slow down the president when an immediate response is needed.

Rep. Doug Lamborn, a Republican, said in 2020 that it would hinder and "delay needed action" to maintain domestic peace.

Capitol Riot Investigation

A member of the House committee investigating the Capitol riot said Donald Trump might be called to testify about the events of January 6, Newsweek reported.

Rep. Jamie Raskin noted that the committee has not yet decided whether it will ask for the former president or Vice President Mike Pence to testify as part of the Capitol riot investigation.

Raskin said the incident was a "coup organized by the president against the vice president and against the Congress" in an effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

He added that "we were saved" by Pence's act of defiance to follow Trump's order to block the certification of President Joe Biden's win.

So far, the January 6 panel has managed to gather more than 100,000 documents and conducted more than 800 interviews.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

WATCH: House January 6 Committee Considers Update To 1807 Insurrection Act Law | Zerlina. - From MSNBC