Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley can’t serve on their own jury
Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) are more aligned with the insurrectionists who stormed the Capitol earlier this month than they are with us non-insurrectionists. These senators gave voice to the Big Lie, used the attack on the Capitol as a fundraising tool, used the insurrection as a way to augment their own ignominious profiles, incited domestic terrorists, and sought to overturn the will of the voters. They already face an ethics complaint in Congress that could include punishment as severe as expulsion. The investigation into Cruz and Hawley is intended to reveal just how closely they actually coordinated with the insurrectionists in the period around January 6th.
Legislators who incite violence, seek to undermine democracy, and whose actions are deemed possible reasons for expulsion from Congress should not be jurors in impeachment trials. Given what Cruz and Hawley have done and given that they’re surely soon to be under investigation themselves, it would be inappropriate for them to serve as impeachment jurors. These senators have colleagues who don’t even think Cruz and Hawley should be allowed to have committee seats, much less serve as jurymen. It stands to reason that these two senators should recuse themselves or be barred from serving as impeachment jurors.
Cruz and Hawley were perhaps complicit in the very actions that have necessitated another article of impeachment against the previous president. The upcoming trial is about justice that must occur before we have the unity and healing we keep hearing about. Having jurors who schemed and calculated with the accused is wholly ill-advised. We know that Republicans don’t care about impropriety amongst their own ranks, so it will be up to congressional Democrats to force the issue.
