By now, our newly elected House of Representatives has gotten organized for action. A House Speaker has been elected and committee assignments have been determined. 

We should soon learn of the legislative and investigative priorities of this House.  

I have a top priority to suggest.

We have a serious wound festering in our nation, and its poison is driving us apart. Untreated, it threatens the very foundation of our country. Millions of Americans, including over 100 members of our new House and the Speaker, currently believe a presidential election was stolen from the rightful winner.

This cannot persist.

As Abraham Lincoln so eloquently declared, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.”  We are way past the point this should’ve been resolved. There is only one truth. Whatever the truth, ignoring the consequences, remedies and accountabilities makes a sham of our Constitution, our ideal of a democratic government and our rule of law.

If a presidential candidate was cheated out of elected office, this is one of the worst, most traitorous crimes imaginable. It is never too late to correct a wrong, regardless of the unprecedented actions it requires. 

Recently, the State of Missouri released Lamar Johnson after 28 years of imprisonment for a crime it was determined he did not commit. It took a new state law to enable this. If we can do this, we can correct an election fraud.

On the other hand, if the election was valid, we have a widespread conspiracy to defraud our nation of the leader we elected per our Constitution.  This conspiracy, if it is the truth, includes a former president, most of his top aides, and members of our House and Senate.  This, too, would be one of the most traitorous crimes imaginable.

All members of Congress, and the president, take an oath to defend the Constitution. Either the rightful president was denied his office or there was an attempt to keep a rightful president out of office.  Both scenarios are a direct attack on the Constitution.  

The only way to uphold their oath is for Congress to determine the singular truth and hold the perpetrators accountable.

Either scenario is traitorous, a term we have historically linked with the name Benedict Arnold.  

Arnold was a great leader in the early stages of the American Revolution and committed to the ideals for which our Founding Fathers fought. He was a major general in the Continental Army and one of George Washington’s most reliable subordinates.

He then switched sides, secretly joining the British. Historians believe his motives were self interest.  He had married a beautiful young woman sympathetic to the British, and he held a grudge that he was under-appreciated by the Continental Congress.

Arnold was never prosecuted for his treachery because he remained with the British, but an accomplice was hanged for treason.

We are at a crossroads in our history. One could argue we haven’t faced such a threat to our Constitution since the Civil War. Feeling threatened by a rising tide against slavery, several states chose to violently leave the United States.  As this was unconstitutional, the original U.S. objective of the war was “to preserve the Union.”

Over 600,000 Americans died to ensure this protection of our Constitution.

Culture wars and personal investigations pale in significance to the idea that the people’s election of their president can be corrupted.  

The past House leadership conducted an extensive investigation into this question and turned their information over to the U.S. Justice Department. Many Republicans discredited the investigation, calling it a political “witch hunt.” 

Our new Congress now has a Republican majority.  If there truly were objective flaws in the past investigation, then this House must make it the top priority to lead the nation to the truth and to hold traitors accountable.

If we don’t, the wound festers, the poison corrupts and our Constitution is just a piece of paper with some high-minded ideals written on it.