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Last week, Rep. Jim Hagedorn of Minnesota’s 1st Congressional District signed on as a supporter of a lawsuit brought by the state of Texas against the states of Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Georgia seeking to invalidate the Nov. 3 election results in those states. That action on the part of Mr. Hagedorn raises some questions to which his constituents deserve answers.

How would that litigation, since dismissed by the U.S. Supreme Court, benefit the residents of Mr. Hagedorn’s Congressional district? The answer to that question should not include such phrases as “voter fraud” or “stolen election,” for absolutely no evidence has been presented to support those concepts. Saying something happened doesn’t make it true. Our legal system places the burden of proof for any accusations of wrongdoing upon the accuser, and, in this instance, accusers have repeatedly failed. Those who make allegations they cannot prove are wrong, lying or have been hopelessly duped. None of those self-images are flattering to display.

Would Mr. Hagedorn still be a signatory to such action if voters in any other state challenged the outcome of Minnesota’s elections, including the one which resulted in his return to Congress for a second term? After all, Minnesota, like the four named defendant states in the Texas lawsuit, showed a winning majority for President-elect Joe Biden.

Should Mr. Hagedorn’s participation in this litigation result his being prosecuted as a violator of his oath of office to “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States of America”? Section 3 of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution states that no officeholder who has engaged in any insurrection or rebellion against the Constitution shall hold state or federal office. Efforts to overturn the results of an election might be construed as so doing. Perhaps some legal professionals should be looking into this matter.

Where do Mr. Hagedorn’s loyalties lie? Is he true to the people who have elected him twice or to a subversive plot to overturn unfavorable election results? Why is he so willing to subscribe to the herd mentality of 125 other representatives who co-signed the same letter of support for the Texas lawsuit? Is his participation in this assault upon democracy by attempting to silence the collective voice of millions of voters what people of Minnesota are all about? What if the voices targeted for silencing were ours and those of our friends, family and neighbors? Would Mr. Hagedorn react in the same manner?

Has the time arrived to recall Mr. Hagedorn? If not, will voters in Minnesota’s 1st Congressional District remember in 2022 how they were betrayed in 2020?

Michael Schoepf

Albert Lea