Seven senators have filed an official ethics complaint and requested an investigation into Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Josh Hawley (R-Missouri) because of their conduct surrounding the January 6th Capitol riots.
The senators filing the complaint specifically asked if Cruz and Hawley’s objection to the certification of the Electoral College constitutes a violation of ethics rules.
“The Senate Ethics Committee should investigate their conduct to fully understand their role. The actions of which we know demand an investigation and a determination whether disciplinary action is warranted. Until then, a cloud of uncertainty will hang over them and over this body,” the senators wrote.
Hawley responded bitterly to the request for an ethics probe. “This latest effort is a flagrant abuse of the Senate ethics process and a flagrant attempt to exact partisan revenge,” he said. Hawley maintained his objection to the certification even after the rioters stormed the Capitol building.
The senators who asked for the investigation recommend “strong disciplinary action, including up to expulsion or censure, if warranted by the facts uncovered.”
