Tag: Sen. Hawley

Josh Hawley hometown paper reveals ‘warning signs’: Senator has lifelong history of siding with right-wing extremists

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Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) exhibited “warning signs” of an extremist sympathizer long before he sided with a mob of people who set out to attack the U.S. Capitol, according to a recent report.

The Kansas City Star revealed on Sunday that Hawley has a history of standing up for racists and extremists that stunned his early mentors.

According to the Star, Hawley spoke up for the rights of militia members after the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing and defended L.A. police detective Mark Fuhrman against charges of racism following the trial of O.J. Simpson. Continue reading.

Josh Hawley slammed for railing against ‘the muzzling of America’ — on the front page of the New York Post

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In an op-ed published by the New York Post on Sunday, January 24, Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri complains bitterly about what he claims is “the latest form of cancel culture” in the United States: being lambasted for his unwavering support of President Donald Trump following the 2020 presidential election. But Hawley’s op-ed wasn’t buried deep inside the pages of the Post, which ran it as a cover story. And the far-right Republican and Trump loyalist is drawing a great deal of criticism for claiming that he exemplifies “the muzzling of America” in light of the fact that a major newspaper in the largest city in the U.S. gave him the front cover to make his bogus claims.

In his op-ed, Hawley writes, “On behalf of the voters of my state, I raised a challenge to the presidential electors from Pennsylvania after that state conducted the election in violation of the state constitution. Maybe you agree with me. Maybe you don’t. But whatever your view, Corporate America’s rush to cancel those it dislikes should trouble you.”

Hawley makes it sound like he is being persecuted for standing up for democracy. In fact, he’s being criticized for pandering to extremists who were making false claims of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election. Hawley cynically announced that on January 6, he would contest Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory. And a now-infamous photo shows Hawley waving in solidarity with violent far-right insurrectionists who later stormed the U.S. Capitol Building in the hope of preventing the certification of democratic election results. Continue reading.

Democrats file ethics complaints against Hawley and Cruz, but action unlikely

Secretive ethics committee last took public action in 2018

Seven Democratic senators are asking the chamber’s ethics committee to investigate Sens. Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley for objecting to the Electoral College certification of President Joe Biden’s victory on Jan. 6, a day in which a violent pro-Trump group of insurrectionists invaded the Capitol.

It is doubtful that the committee, which took no disciplinary actions in 2019 — the most recent year for which an annual report is available — and dismissed almost all of the 251 complaints it received that year, will venture into a complaint that is light on alleged ethics violations.

Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island and Tina Smith of Minnesota, with five of their colleagues, wrote to Chairman Chris Coons, D-Del., and Vice Chairman James Lankford, R-Okla., alleging that Hawley and Cruz “lent legitimacy to the mob’s cause and made future violence more likely.” Continue reading.

Senate Democrats file ethics complaint against Hawley, Cruz over Capitol attack

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Seven Senate Democrats are asking the Ethics Committee to open an investigation into GOP Sens. Josh Hawley (Mo.) and Ted Cruz (Texas) over the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

The senators filed a complaint on Thursday with the committee asking that it probe whether Hawley and Cruz’s objections to the Electoral College results violated the chamber’s 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. Continue reading.

Sen. Hawley Loses More Major Donors Over Capitol Riot

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) has lost the support of another prominent GOP megadonor over his role in the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection.

“Sometimes politicians deceive their donors,” billionaire Jeffrey Yass recently wrote in an email, published by the Guardian on Monday, explaining his disappointment in Hawley’s actions. Yass, co-founder of trading firm Susquehanna International Group, has donated tens of millions to the right-wing Club for Growth, which spent millions of dollars on Hawley’s 2018 victory.

A Hawley spokesperson did not immediately respond to an inquiry for this story. Continue reading.

Hawley, Cruz face rising anger, possible censure

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Sens. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas) are facing a possible vote on a censure resolution in the Senate as Democrats and some Republicans blame them for the mob that attacked the Capitol last week.

Several Democratic senators have called on Hawley and Cruz to resign and Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) have called for them to be expelled if they don’t step down voluntarily.

Democratic aides say there is a discussion about censuring the two lawmakers for helping to incite protesters who temporarily halted the counting of the Electoral College last week after overrunning Capitol Police. Continue reading.

GOP Sen. Josh Hawley gets condemned by fellow Republican: ‘ ‘Lies have consequences’

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Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) is still angry about his Republican colleague Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) recent political stunt in support of President Donald Trump’s dangerous coup to challenge the Electoral College certification despite the U.S. Capitol breach that led to the deaths of five people. 

On Friday, Jan.8, Sasse appeared on NPR’s “Morning Edition” with host Steve Inskeep where he discussed the disturbing series of events that unfolded this week. The Republican lawmaker lambasted Hawley for his attempt to invalidate the outcome of the election on behalf of a disgraced president.

Sasse did not hold back when it came to sharing his brutally honest opinion of the Missouri senator. “Senator Hawley was doing something that was really dumbass, and I have been clear about that in public and in private since long before he announced he was going to do this” Sasse said. Continue reading.

GOP senator claims ‘antifa’ attacked his home — but video shows he’s lying

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) told numerous lies about a protest outside of his Washington, D.C., residence.

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) tried to get sympathy from right-wing supporters on Monday by claiming he was targeted by “antifa” protesting outside his home in Washington, D.C.

However, video evidence dismantles his entire story, catching Hawley in a lie.

“Tonight while I was in Missouri, Antifa scumbags came to our place in DC and threatened my wife and newborn daughter, who can’t travel,” Hawley tweeted. “They screamed threats, vandalized, and tried to pound open our door. Let me be clear: My family & I will not be intimidated by leftwing violence.” Continue reading.

Josh Hawley’s Mentor Calls Him ‘The Worst Mistake He’s Ever Made In His Life’

Former Sen. Jack Danforth told a local newspaper Hawley’s attempts to overturn the election were “dangerous.”

The political mentor of Sen. Josh Hawley (Mo.) told a local newspaper on Thursday that backing the freshman Republican’s bids for office was “the worst mistake I ever made in my life,” calling Hawley’s attempts to undermine confidence in the election of President-elect Joe Biden “dangerous.” 

Jack Danforth, a former senator and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations who is considered the dean of Missouri Republican politics, played a key role in elevating Hawley ahead of the latter man’s race against Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill in 2018. 

“Supporting Josh and trying so hard to get him elected to the Senate was the worst mistake I ever made in my life,” Danforth told St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist Tony Messenger. “Yesterday was the physical culmination of the long attempt (by Hawley and others) to foment a lack of public confidence in our democratic system. It is very dangerous to America to continue pushing this idea that government doesn’t work and that voting was fraudulent.” Continue reading.

Missouri senator’s home-state paper: Hawley has ‘blood on his hands’

U.S. Senator Josh Hawley, a Missouri Republican at the forefront of a bid to block congressional certification of the Electoral College vote, is largely to blame for “inspiring one of the most heartbreaking days in modern American history,” his home-state newspaper’s editorial board wrote.

The scathing editorial was published on Wednesday on the home page of the Kansas City Star under the headline: “Assault on democracy: Sen. Josh Hawley has blood on his hands in Capitol coup attempt.”

The editorial went on to say: “No one other than President Donald Trump himself is more responsible” for the violence that ensued when a “mob” of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol building demanding his re-election defeat in November be overturned. Four people died, including a women shot to death, during the pandemonium. Continue reading.