John,
Before we move on to unity, if this democracy is to truly heal, we need accountability.
The Senate will begin Donald Trump’s impeachment trial for his incitement of the insurrection next week. Convicting Trump and disqualifying him from future office should not be controversial, and any senator who cares about our democracy should vote to do both.
But consequences should not end there. Trump did not act alone in stirring up the violent mob.
Two senators in particular led the fight to reject the outcome of the election: Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley. There must be an investigation into whether their challenges to the election results contributed to the violence at the Capitol and if it did, they should be expelled from the Senate.
Just last week, seven senators requested a Senate Ethics Committee investigation into Hawley’s and Cruz’s conduct. For one senator to ask for investigation into another is exceedingly rare; seven is unheard of. But in this case it was absolutely necessary.
In total, eleven senators vowed to reject the electoral vote tallies unless there was an audit of the votes. One of them was Senator James Lankford. He has attracted less attention than Cruz or Hawley because after the violence he walked back his challenge—but he should still face consequences. Lankford is on the Senate Ethics Committee, and could play a role in any investigation of Cruz’s and Hawley’s encouragement of the insurrection.
Because of Lankford’s involvement and his connections to Cruz and Hawley, CREW sent a letter calling for him to recuse from any investigation, pointing out that Senate rules require his recusal. Read more on CREW’s website.
The country is bitterly divided and desperately searching for answers after the horrific attack on our democracy on January 6th. Fair and careful investigations are the only way forward.
Thank you for standing with us,
Noah Bookbinder
President, CREW
