KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Seven Democratic U.S. senators signed a letter Thursday asking the Senate Ethics Committee to investigate Republican Sens. Josh Hawley of Missouri and Ted Cruz of Texas regarding their conduct related to the Electoral College certification process.
Hawley and Cruz were among former President Trump’s most vocal supporters in the Senate and “amplified claims of election fraud that had resulted in threats of violence against state and local officials around the country,” according to the 10-page letter addressed to U.S. Senate Select Committee on Ethics Chairman Chris Coons and Vice Chairman James Lankford.
During the Jan. 6 certification process, the Capitol was overrun by a pro-Trump mob during a deadly hours-long siege that halted congressional proceedings.
“These insurrectionists ransacked the building, stole property, and openly threatened Members of Congress and the Vice President,” the letter to the Senate Ethics Committee said. “Dozens of police officers were injured; five people died, including U.S. Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick. By proceeding with their objections to the electors after the violent attack, Senators Cruz and Hawley lent legitimacy to the mob’s cause and made future violence more likely.”
The Senate Ethics Committee will be asked to determine “whether the senators failed to ‘[p]ut loyalty to the highest moral principles and to country above loyalty to persons, party, or Government department’ or engaged in ‘improper conduct reflecting on the Senate’ in connection with the violence on January 6,” the letter said.
The letter went on to detail the times Hawley and Cruz defended or excused the president’s repeated and numerous false election fraud claims, “meritless lawsuits,” and threats made against election officials across the country.
Fellow senators also are asking for an investigation into what role, if any, Hawley and Cruz may have played in helping organize that pro-Trump rally that spawned the violence.
The letter argues that because Hawley and Cruz coordinated with Reps. Andy Biggs (Arizona), Paul Gosar (Arizona) and Mo Brooks (Alabama), who were central figures in the staging Trump’s rally, the Senate Ethics Committee must investigate the extent that the senators, their staffs and campaigns may have played in the Jan. 6 violence.
Hawley was the first senator to announce plans to object to certification of electors from certain states, ultimately objecting to those from Arizona and Pennsylvania after proceedings resumed in the wake of the riot.
Hawley issued a statement in response to the letter Thursday afternoon:
Joe Biden and the Democrats talk about unity but are brazenly trying to silence dissent. This latest effort is a flagrant abuse of the Senate ethics process and a flagrant attempt to exact partisan revenge. Democrats appear intent on weaponizing every tool at their disposal — including pushing an unconstitutional impeachment process — to further divide the country. Missourians will not be cancelled by these partisan attacks.
The letter calls for an investigation “to protect the integrity, safety, and reputation of the Senate” and asks the committee to make “recommendations for strong disciplinary action, including up to expulsion or censure, if warranted.”
Sen. Coons is Democrat from Delaware, while Sen. Lankford is a Republican from Oklahoma.
Sens. Richard Blumenthal (Connecticut) Sherrod Brown (Ohio), Mazie Hirono (Hawaii), Tim Kaine (Virginia), Tina Smith (Minnesota), Sheldon Whitehouse (Rhode Island) and Ron Wyden (Oregon) signed the letter, which was first reported by Politico.
Kaine, who was Hillary Clinton’s running mate in the 2016 presidential election, grew up in Overland Park and graduated from Rockhurst High and the University of Missouri.
