On Thursday, seven Democratic members of the U.S. Senate filed an ethics complaint against Sens. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas) requesting an investigation and recommendations for discipline from the Senate Ethics Committee after the Republican Senators in question helped provide rhetorical cover for the recent deadly rioting at the Capitol. Hawley and Cruz were at the forefront of pushing the unhinged lie that the 2020 presidential election outcome was in any way dubious, and the Capitol rioters proceeded with this exact idea, attempting to forcibly disrupt the Congressional proceedings to formally certify the electoral college outcome.
NEW — Hawley Responds to Dems' Ethics Complaint
"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" https://t.co/Lrv0e2uQgQ
— Senator Hawley Press Office (@SenHawleyPress) January 21, 2021
Hawley promptly issued a public complaint about the ethics complaint against him, looping President Joe Biden himself into the blame for an imaginary attack on free speech, although Biden has absolutely nothing to do with the Ethics Committee filing. Hawley belligerently insisted as follows:
‘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.’
Democrats are not “brazenly trying to silence dissent,” as Hawley insisted — the outcome of the 2020 presidential election was not, in any legitimate fashion whatsoever, an open question or up for debate at the time of Hawley’s objection to certifying Biden’s electoral votes. What Democrats are actually trying to do is hold Hawley accountable for his role in pushing vitriolic nonsense that has a documented and obvious connection to rioting at the U.S. Capitol building that is connected to at least five deaths and put members of Congress in danger. Hawley’s “poor me” performance will not erase these fundamental facts.
Cruz’s team, unsurprisingly, also complained about the ethics complaint. A spokesperson for the Senator said that he merely “debated a question of law and policy on the floor of the Senate,” which is a pompously self-important misrepresentation of what actually happened. The outcome of the 2020 presidential election was not, in any respect, an open question when Cruz launched his stunt. He called for a so-called audit of the results as if every state hadn’t already undertaken comprehensive measures to ensure the security of the numbers. Georgia alone tallied every single presidential election ballot three times, among many other similar steps.
