Page:Investigation Request for Senators Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley.pdf/3

 his supporters to “Come to D.C. January 6th to ‘StopTheSteal.’” On December 19, he tweeted: “Statistically impossible to have lost the 2020 Election. Big protest in D.C. on January 6th. Be there, will be wild!”

Senators Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley lent legitimacy to President Trump’s false statements about election fraud by announcing that they would object to the certification of electors on January 6. On December 30, Sen. Hawley became the first Senator to state that he would object. In a pair of Tweets later that day, Sen. Hawley explained: “Millions of voters concerned about election integrity deserve to be heard. I will object on January 6 on their behalf,” and “Somebody has to stand up.” On January 2, Sen. Cruz announced that he and ten other Senators would “reject the electors from disputed states. . . unless and until [an] emergency 10-day audit is completed.” Sen. Hawley responded by Tweeting: “Glad to see more Senators joining the fight on #JAN6” and “It’s time to STAND UP.”

At the time Senators Hawley and Cruz announced their intent to object to the electors, Sen. Lindsay Graham, the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, noted that Sen. Cruz’s proposed audit had “zero chance of becoming reality.” Both Senators Hawley and Cruz argued that the public perception of fraud justified their actions. This perception was created by President Trump’s baseless claims, and was magnified by Sens. Cruz and Hawley’s repetition of those claims. It is probable that Sens. Cruz and Hawley knew those claims to be false.

On January 6, as Congress was preparing to certify the election results, President Trump held an event dubbed the “Save America Rally.” The event was orchestrated by a network of groups who obtained permits, provided funding and equipment, and actively recruited participants. The