Disgraced Democrat Rep. Eric Swalwell’s attorneys are finding it extremely difficult to serve Republican Congressman Mo Brooks with a lawsuit. Swalwell is attempting to hold Rep. Brooks and former President Trump accountable for the Jan. 6th Capitol riot and in his lawsuit claims that the two Republican’s speeches that morning led to a mob storming the U.S. Capitol. However, because of increased security Swalwell’s attorney say they have not had an opportunity to get near Brooks to serve the lawsuit.
The Hill reports:
The attorneys further requested that a U.S. marshal or other court-designated official serve the complaint due to the difficulties in locating Brooks, as well as “recovery of costs associated” with Swalwell’s “efforts to serve Brooks.”
Swalwell argued that Brooks “has refused to waive service or even speak to undersigned counsel about the case,” with his attorneys going so far as hiring a private investigator “to attempt to serve Brooks personally — a difficult feat under normal circumstances that has been complicated further in the wake of the January 6 insurrection at the Capitol that Defendants incited,” the attorneys wrote, citing the increased security at the Capitol following the mob attack.
CNN reported that a federal judge granted Swalwell’s legal team an additional 60 days to serve Brooks with the lawsuit, but added that U.S. marshals would not be allowed to deliver the suit “due to separation of powers concerns.”
Swalwell in March filed the lawsuit in federal court in Washington, D.C., accusing Brooks, Trump, Donald Trump Jr. and Trump’s former personal attorney Rudy Giuliani with provoking the Capitol riot, as well as violating several federal and D.C. laws.
Eric Swalwell made headlines last year after reports emerged detailing his relationship with an alleged Chinese spy. The California Democrat still sits on the House Intelligence Committee and the House Homeland Security Committee, despite the obvious conflict House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has refused to remove the Democrat from the committees.
