Democrat Eric Swalwell represents California's 14th Congressional District. 

This email is an issued correction for a previously sent email. We apologize for any confusion.

Dear friends,

You have most definitely seen that the Colorado Supreme Court determined former President Donald J. Trump committed insurrection and therefore cannot be on their state's ballot. What you may not know is that back in October I testified at that trial. I want you to know why I did so.

For too long Donald Trump has been a stranger to accountability. For decades Trump has acted as a legal terrorist. As a plaintiff he frivolously sues his enemies and he's often a defendant for failing to live up to his side of a deal. It's not surprising that many of you have expressed to me — on multiple occasions — that Trump will in fact never be held accountable for anything. When the plaintiffs in the Colorado case asked me to testify, one of my first thoughts was whether my participation would even matter. I was clearly jaded — like many of you — by years of watching Trump abuse our rule of law and re-offend without any consequences.

Then it occurred to me how quickly that's changed in the last year. After all, Trump is now a defendant in four separate criminal matters to the tune of 91 felony charges. He's also facing scores of civil lawsuits, many that will soon yield decisions. With his persistent attacks on our rule of law and bullying of those who defend it, Trump counts on people like you and me giving up. I wasn't going to do that. So I chose to testify. It was my duty, I realized, to tell the truth about what happened on January 6 to me and my colleagues — and most importantly the Capitol Police — and the role Trump played in inciting and aiming the mob at the Capitol.

I can't tell you where the Colorado case goes from here. It's also not my role. I was simply a witness to Trump's incitement and the violence that ensued. The best part of our legal system, its elegance in design, is that I don't get to decide. And neither do you. An independent judiciary, and in some cases a jury of Trump's peers, will make that call. But here's what we do get to decide: whether after this upcoming election we are a democracy or not. In that matter, we are not helpless. We are the authors of how that story ends. And because I know you, I know we are going to spend the next year doing the work that renews, reinvigorates, and redeems our democracy. I look forward to doing that with you.

All my best,

Eric