Senate Democrats must investigate the insurrectionists

[Zorro]

Opinion by Jennifer Rubin

A group of Senate Democrats lodged a complaint with the Senate Ethics Committee on Thursday against Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) concerning their efforts to undermine the election, culminating in the violent insurrection on Jan. 6.

In the complaint, signed by Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (R.I.), Ron Wyden (Ore.), Tina Smith (Minn.), Richard Blumenthal (Conn.), Mazie Hirono (Hawaii), Tim Kaine (Va.) and Sherrod Brown (Ohio), the Democrats declare: “When Senators Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley announced they would object to the counting of state-certified electors on January 6, 2021, they amplified claims of election fraud that had resulted in threats of violence against state and local officials around the country.” They also argue that in “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 Democrats argue that the Senate must 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,” citing the Code of Ethics for Government Service and the Senate Ethics Manual. They want the Senate, among other things, to investigate whether Cruz and Hawley communicated or coordinated with three Republican House members — Reps. Andy Biggs (Ariz.), Paul Gosar (Ariz.), and Mo Brooks (Ala.) — who have been accused of aiding the insurrection, an allegation that has not yet been proved. Democrats also cite Hawley for “rais[ing] his fist in support of protestors who had already gathered there.” Finally, as I and others have publicly recommended, the Democrats ask Cruz and Hawley to “preserve all relevant emails and documents in order to ensure that a thorough investigation can occur.”

Democrats know that asking colleagues to punish Cruz and Hawley for simply exercising their right to demand votes on their objections, no matter how specious, is a nonstarter. They therefore walk a fine line:

While it was within Senators’ rights to object to the electors, the conduct of Senators Cruz and Hawley, and potentially others, went beyond that. Both senators announced their intention to object to the electors after baseless claims of election fraud, which upon information and belief they knew to be baseless, had led to threats of violence. Both senators persisted in their objections after those threats came to fruition. Their actions lend credence to the insurrectionists’ cause and set the stage for future violence. And both senators used their objections for political fundraising.

Even more intriguing is an argument that Whitehouse made in a prior statement: "Because of massive potential conflict of interest, Senators Cruz, Hawley, and [Ron] Johnson (at least) need to be off all relevant committees reviewing this matter until the investigation of their role is complete.” Cruz and Hawley, galling as it might be, sit on the Senate Judiciary Committee (although new committee assignments have yet to be made under the power-sharing arrangement being negotiated).

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/01/22/senate-democrats-investigate-insurrectionists/