INFO ABOUT SENATORS HAWLEY AND CRUZ

Below is information (further to the petition referred to on the page of our website entitled "Statements about the attempt by some members of Congress to deny certification of election results" about endeavors to disbar Senators Hawley and Cruz, calls for their resignations, and each senator’s defense of his conduct. Both Hawley and Cruz condemned the violence and denied any role in inciting it. Neither Senator Hawley nor Senator Cruz have been disbarred by their bar associations, and neither has resigned. 

-  A legal watchdog organization filed a complaint against Senator Cruz with the Texas Bar Association, seeking his disbarment for aiding what it called an “anti-democratic” plot to keep President Trump in power despite his election defeat. The Texas Bar Association dismissed the complaint on the ground that it lacked jurisdiction. The Bar Association’s Office of the Chief Disciplinary Counsel wrote that the allegations against Cruz showed no misconduct within the scope of professional rules that apply to Texas lawyers “in the discharge of any responsibilities owed to a client, a court, or the legal profession.” Renee Knake Jefferson, a legal ethics expert at University of Houston Law Center who also advises the organization that lodged the complaint against Cruz, said ethics rules should apply even when an attorney is not representing a client: “Lawyer lies designed to sabotage valid election results should not be considered protected political speech,” reflecting commentary she published in Yale Law Review. “Group that tried to disbar Ted Cruz over 2020 wants ban on election lies by lawyers”, Todd J. Gillman, Dallas Morning News, 27 August 2019 updated 29 June 2021. 

-  See also the following articles about calls for Senator Cruz to resign, and Senator Cruz’s defense of his conduct: “Texas newspapers call for resignation of state’s senator Ted Cruz after Capitol riots,” Danielle Zoellner, Independent, 9 January 2021; “Calls Grow For Sens. Josh Hawley, Ted Cruz To Resign For Subverting Democracy,” Arthur Delaney and Igor Bobic, HuffPost, 8 January 2021; “Ted Cruz urges critics of presidential election challenge to calm down,” David Cohen, Politico, 3 January 2021; “Sen. Ted Cruz responds after video showed Capitol rioter saying senator 'would want us to do this'”, ABC 13 News, 17 January 2021; “Ted Cruz called the Jan. 6 riot a “terrorist attack.” Now he says he misspoke.” Karen Brooks Harper, The Texas Tribune, 6 January 2022.

-  For reports about Senator Hawley’s refusal to certify the election results, complaints brought in Missouri seeking his disbarment, calls for his resignation, and Hawley’s defense of his conduct, see: “Attorneys urge Missouri Supreme Court to probe Hawley’s actions before Capitol riot,” Celine Castronuovo, The Hill, 19 January 2021; “Missouri paper urges disbarment proceedings against Josh Hawley: 'He must answer for his treasonous misdeeds',” Tom Boggioni, Raw Story, 19 January 2021; “Could Sen. Josh Hawley’s ‘reckless disregard for truth’ cost him Missouri law license?,” Editorial Board, Kansas City Star, 19 January 2021; “‘Poster Boy Of The Radical Right’: Missouri’s Two Biggest Newspapers Call For Sen. Josh Hawley’s Resignation,” Siladitya Ray, Forbes, 8 January 2021; “Calls Grow For Sens. Josh Hawley, Ted Cruz To Resign For Subverting Democracy,” Arthur Delaney and Igor Bobic, HuffPost, 8 January 2021; “Hawley Defends Decision To Object To Electoral Votes”, Barbara Sprunt, NPR, 13 January 2021; Sen. Josh Hawley: “Why I objected to the electoral vote,” Senator Josh Hawley, in Columbia Daily Tribune, 13 January 2021.

-  In February, 2021, a group in Missouri (including lawyers) filed a complaint against Senator Hawley with Alan Pratzel, chief disciplinary counsel of the Missouri Supreme Court, who is responsible for investigating alleged legal misconduct. The complaint said that Hawley’s statements seeking to overturn the presidential election results “were false and known by Senator Hawley to be false at the time made or were made with reckless disregard for truth or falsity,” thereby violating the oaths Hawley took as a Senator to uphold the U.S. and Missouri Constitutions and to practice law in Missouri. In August 2022 Pratzel informed the group that he had found "insufficient probable cause to believe that Senator Hawley was guilty of professional misconduct that would justify discipline", and that Hawley's public statements "were constitutionally protected." The group appealed to the Advisory Committee of the Supreme Court of Missouri, saying that Pratzel had not offered sufficient reasons for his decision and had failed to provide “analysis of the facts or applicable law … to support these conclusions.” The Advisory Committee held that it agreed with the decision to close the case file, without giving specifics explaining its reasoning. The complainant group’s leader said: “The system for enforcing the ethical rules governing Missouri lawyers appears to be opaque, arbitrary, and lacking in meaningful oversight and accountability. That’s a disservice to the citizens of this State. It would seem that reform is needed.” “Effort to discipline Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley ends in failure; critic says ethics process is ‘opaque, arbitrary’,” Paul Wagman, Gateway Journalism Review, 17 November 2022.

-  See also: “Senate Democrats file ethics complaint against Republicans Hawley, Cruz over roles in Capitol riot,” Dareh Gregorian, Julie Tsirkin and Frank Thorp V, NBC News, 21 January 2021; “Democratic Senators File Ethics Complaint Against Cruz, Hawley After Capitol Riot,” Susan Davis, NPR, 22 January 2021.