The Republican National Committee asked the Texas state Bar to take disciplinary action against Sen. Elizabeth Warren after reports that she claimed Native American heritage on her bar card.
Ms. Warren now says she is not a member of any Native American tribe, but The Washington Post reported that when she applied for the bar in 1986 she listed herself as “American Indian.”
The RNC says that puts her in violation of the bar’s requirement to show good moral character.
“It has now been thirty-three (33) years since she made this representation to the Texas Bar and has never made an attempt to correct her registration card. Therefore it is clear that Attorney Warren lacked the ’Good Moral Character’ required for admission to the Texas Bar and should be disciplined for her three (3) decades of untruthfulness,” RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel wrote.
Speaking to reporters Wednesday, she said she still asserts her own family history that she has Native American ancestry, but she said that’s not the same as being part of a tribe, and that’s where she says she erred.
“This is our family story, and it’s all consistent in that point in time,” she said. “I’m not a tribal citizen and I should have been more mindful of the distinction with tribal citizenship and tribal sovereignty.”
Ms. Warren is listed as inactive in the Texas bar.
Her license, under bar card No. 20885410, was issued April 11, 1986.
She has no previous reported discipline.
She also had been licensed in New Jersey, but resigned from the bar.
Ms. Warren’s claims about her ancestry have landed her in the middle of political controversy.
Irked by President Trump’s jibes, she took a DNA test that revealed she could have native blood in her ancestry, but it dates back many generations.
She has since apologized to the Cherokee Nation for the DNA stunt.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
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