GOP's Hawley files counter complaint with the Senate Ethics Committee against Democratic colleagues

Republican Sen. Josh Hawley on Monday filed a counter-complaint with the Senate Ethics Committee in response to the seven Senate Democrats who had previously filed a complaint against him and Texas Senator Ted Cruz for their opposition to 2020 election results.

"The idea that one senator who disagrees with another senator can therefore have that senator punished, sanctioned, censured, or removed is utterly antithetical to our democracy and the very idea of open, lawful debate," wrote Hawley in a letter addressed to his seven colleagues.

The Democratic senators and others argue Hawly and Cruz's objections helps sparked the Jan. 6 siege on the U.S. Capitol Building as lawmakers were certifying state election results to make Biden, not fellow Republican Donald Trump, the winner of the 2020 presidential election.

Last week, Democratic Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse, of Rhode Island; Richard Blumenthal, of Connecticut; Tina Smith of Minnesota, Mazie Hirono, of Hawaii, Sherrod Brown, of Ohio, Tim Kaine, of Virginia, and Ron Wyden of Oregon wrote a letter to the ethics committee asking for an investigation of Cruz and Hawley’s efforts to challenge Biden’s electoral college win in November.

Following the siege, publishing house Simon & Schuster canceled its forthcoming book deal with Hawley. The book’s distribution will now be handled by the conservative leaning Regnery publishing, which is distributed internationally by Simon & Schuster.