Jesse Watters: Is Jamaal Bowman 'dumb or lying?'
'The Five' co-hosts discuss Rep. Jamaal Bowman's explanation for pulling a fire alarm.
After pulling a fire alarm in a congressional office building, Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., landed himself in more hot water on Monday when he referred to his Republican colleagues as "Nazis" in an internal memo for attempting to expel him from Congress.
Bowman, a member of the group of House progressives known as "The Squad," is being investigated by Capitol Police after he was seen on surveillance video pulling a fire alarm Saturday morning in one of the House of Representatives’ three office buildings amid the chaos of lawmakers scrambling to avert a government shutdown.
BOWMAN DEFENDS FIRE ALARM SCANDAL BY REPEATING TALKING POINT ABOUT BEING IN A ‘RUSH TO VOTE’
The Democrat has claimed he made a mistake and was trying to open a locked door while rushing to cast his vote. Republicans say Bowman had purposefully pulled the fire alarm to delay an official proceeding on a bill to avoid a government shutdown.
Bowman appeared to pull the alarm on Saturday as Republicans began voting on the stopgap bill to avert a government shutdown. (U.S. Capitol Police)
"I am embarrassed to admit that I activated the fire alarm, mistakenly thinking it would open the door. I regret this and sincerely apologize for any confusion this caused," read a statement from the lawmaker.
On Monday, Bowman's office circulated a memo to his Democrat colleagues urging them to defend him publicly with suggested arguments as Republicans continue to demand his expulsion from Congress over the incident. One proposed talking point in the memo, titled "Messaging Guidance: Supporting Congressman Jamaal Bowman After Accidental Fire Alarm," targeted "Nazi members" of the GOP.
"I believe Congressman Bowman when he says this was an accident," Bowman's memo reads. "Republicans need to instead focus their energy on the Nazi members of their party before anything else."
Bowman later tried to walk back the Nazi reference on X, formerly Twitter, claiming that the guidance had been drafted by his staff and that he did not approve the use of the term.
U.S. Representative Jamaal Bowman speaks at Grammys On The Hill: Advocacy Day on April 27, 2023 in Washington, DC. ((Photo by Leigh Vogel/Getty Images for The Recording Academy))
"I just became aware that in our messaging guidance, there was inappropriate use of the term Nazi without my consent," he wrote. "I condemn the use of the term Nazi out of its precise definition. It is important to specify the term Nazi to refer to members of the Nazi party & neo-Nazis."
Earlier Monday, Bowman reiterated his claim that his action was a simple mistake amid potential government shutdown chaos while speaking with reporters.
REP. BOWMAN SHOCKS MEDIA, CONSERVATIVES WITH 'GARBAGE' STATEMENT AFTER PULLING FIRE ALARM
"You know, I don't know why this has gotten so much attention," Bowman said outside his office on Monday. "I was literally just in a rush to go vote, man."
Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., unveiled a resolution to expel Bowman as a result.
"This is the United States Congress. It's not a New York City public high school," Malliotakis said on "Fox & Friends" Monday.
"And of all people, Jamaal Bowman knows the old fire alarm trick because he was a high school principal. And quite frankly, when he was the high school principal, there were serious ramifications if a student were to do that... including expulsion," she said.
Supporters of Bowman, including fellow Squad member Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., defended him from expulsion calls.
"They're filing a motion to expel a member who in a moment of panic was trying to escape a vestibule," she said of Bowman in a Sunday interview. "Give me a break."
Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., arrives to the U.S. Capitol on Thursday, May 25, 2023. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., called the incident "serious" and said Bowman should be investigated.
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"This should not go without punishment," McCarthy told reporters. "This is an embarrassment."
Bowman's Press Secretary Emma Simon did not immediately respond to Fox News' request for comment. Bowman's talking points memo said to reach out to "Emma" with any questions.
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Fox News' Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report.
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