Topline
A group of Senate Democrats on Thursday filed an ethics complaint against Sens. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas) over their objections to Biden electors even after a group of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in an effort to overturn the election.
WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 20: Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) is seen prior to the 59th Presidential ... [+]
Key Facts
The letter, sent to Senate Ethics Committee Chair Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Vice Chair Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.), alleges Cruz and Hawley’s objections “lent legitimacy to the mob’s cause and made future violence more likely.”
The letter asks the committee to “investigate their conduct to fully understand their role,” asserting that “a cloud of uncertainty will hang over them and over this body” until they do.
The letter is signed by Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio).
Among the questions the senators want answered are whether Cruz and Hawley coordinated with the organizers of a pro-Trump rally that preceded the violence, whether they had knowledge of the violence in advance, whether their donors funded the rally and whether they offered encouragement to the Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol.
“The Committee should also offer recommendations for strong disciplinary action, including up to expulsion or censure, if warranted by the facts uncovered,” the letter concludes.
Forbes has reached out to Coons and Lankford for comment.
Chief Critic
“Joe Biden and the Democrats talk about unity but are brazenly trying to silence dissent,” Hawley said in a statement (there’s no evidence of President Biden’s involvement in the letter). “Missourians will not be cancelled by these partisan attacks.”
Key Background
Coons is among the handful of Senate Democrats who have said they think Cruz and Hawley should resign.
Surprising Fact
Lankford was among the more than dozen senators who planned to object to Biden’s electors. However, he and several other senators withdrew their support for objections after the attack. “We’re headed toward the certification of Joe Biden to be the president of the United States,” Lankford said at the time.
