By Billy Webster
Congressman William Timmons has taken an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution three times in his career.
Upon his admittance to the South Carolina Bar, he swore, “to protect and defend the Constitution of this State and of the United States.”
Upon his enlistment in the National Guard, he swore, “to support and defend the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of this State…”
Upon his swearing to the United States Congress, Timmons swore that he, “would support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.”
Timmons has betrayed his oath to his country over and over and over. His conduct is reprehensible and should be condemned by every constituent—Republican, Democrat and Independent—in the 4th Congressional District.
First, Timmons failed to support the peaceful transfer of power in the 2020 election. Such transfer is one of the hallmarks of a Constitutional Democracy. In a thinly-reasoned and strained legal contortion, he claimed that some alleged minor irregularities in Pennsylvania and Arizona required that he vote against certification of the 2020 election, thereby amplifying Trump’s brazen lie about a ’stolen election.’ Timmons—along with his cowardly Republican colleagues—helped lay the groundwork for the insurrection of January 6, 2021. I can’t recall single admission during the Biden Presidency wherein Timmons acknowledged that Biden had prevailed in a free and fair election. Equally as damning, we did not hear a single complaint about freedom and fairness when Trump won in 2024.
Second, Timmons doubled down on his cowardice by stating that “President Trump bears no responsibility for the small number of individuals who broke the laws on Jan6.” Small number indeed. More than 1,200 people were charged in the investigation of the attack. Over 700 people pleaded guilty while more than 100 were convicted at federal trials. Property crimes against the Capitol and the Capitol grounds amounted to millions of dollars and five people were killed. Timmons never raised a whisper against these “domestic enemies” of the Constitution, despite his oath to do so.
Third, Timmons again failed to raise any objection to Trump’s blanket pardon of every single one of the insurrectionists, including a rioter who battered police officers with his hands, flagpoles, broken furniture, and pepper spray; a man who used a metal tomahawk to shatter a Capitol window and once inside hurled a solid wooden desk drawer, a flagpole, a sharpened wooden pole and other objects at police; and a man who unloaded an entire canister of pepper spray into the face of police. One would think that a former prosecutor such as Timmons would have some sense of his legal duty to object to the pardoning of insurrectionists engaging in this type of violent conduct… “all enemies, foreign and domestic.”
Huddled in his office on January 6 and having watched the mob try to destroy the Capitol in an effort to prevent the peaceful transfer of power, Timmons can’t seriously believe his statement that it was a “small number of individuals” who attacked the Capitol on January 6. He watched it all unfold. He took an oath to act and he failed to do so.
Now, in 2025, Timmons is at it again. Timmons has become an apologist for the unconstitutional usurpation of power by a deeply narcissistic President. In a recent letter to a constituent—just to name one example—Timmons writes that, “Mr Musk and his team at DOGE are here to insure accountability and transparency for every single one of your tax dollars.”
How transparent is it that the Trump and Musk have allowed unqualified political appointees, some of whom have not had anything close to FBI background checks done, to access the Treasury Departments payment systems, which contains tens of millions of social security numbers and bank records? In a court document released on February 11, Treasury officials revealed that a 25-year-old DOGE staffer, Marko Elez, was given the power to edit sensitive Treasury Department systems. If—and I emphasize this only as a hypothetical—if anyone of Musk’s minions were a Russian, Chinese or Iranian agent, we would never know the incalculable damage that person might do. Many of the DOGE employees worked for Musk and his private companies, including one 19-year-old DOGE worker, Edward Coristine, who went by the name ‘Big Balls’ online and who was fired from a cybersecurity firm after an internal probe into data leaks during his employment. Transparency? I wonder if Timmons’ Committee on Oversight and Accountability will investigate? Not a chance…
As of this writing, the DOGE wrecking ball is inside the IRS, likely gaining access to additional personal, confidential taxpayer information. Transparent, indeed. The same story is unfolding at cabinet agencies and independent regulatory agencies across the government. The National Park System doesn’t know how it will keep the parks safe; the National Institute of Health has ceased funding critical cancer research, the Centers for Disease Control, the Federal Aviation Administration, the Agency for International Development and even the National Security Administration can’t do their jobs due to the havoc wreaked by Musk and Trump… and championed by Timmons. Transparency?
At least one court has ruled that Trump defied the 14th Amendment that defines citizenship and three other courts have put on hold his freeze of congressionally-authorized spending—a blatant attempt to usurp the Article 1 power of the purse, an enumerated right of Congress. Other courts are being asked to review a host of other actions that run afoul of a host of federal laws and regulations.
Finally, in what should be a defining moment in the measuring the integrity of Congressman Timmons, he must be called upon to disavow Trump’s February 5th statement, “He who saves the country does not violate any law.”
“He who saves the country does not violate any law.”
This statement might be the most dangerous utterance by any American President in the history of the United States. In one sentence Trump puts himself above the law and, at the same time, seems to suggest that those who might take the law into their own hands to do his bidding, are innocent of all action.
What do you say, Congressman?
Will you uphold your oaths or turn your back on them again?
Read more at: https://www.morningbrew.com/stories/2025/02/03/elon-musk-now-has-access-to-your-ssn
Billy Webster is an educator, entrepreneur, and civic leader. He has been appointed to various positions by two presidents – George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, serving in the Agency for International Development, The Department of Education, and the White House, among other postings. A resident of Spartanburg, Webster has served on numerous boards for organizations serving the Upstate.