The House select committee to investigate January 6 is looking into Ted Cruz’s alleged role in the plot to overturn the 2020 election, according to the Washington Post.
The Post reports that the committee is interested in Cruz’s contact with Trump lawyer John Eastman, one of the key architects of the Trump team’s plan to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Eastman outlined a scenario where Vice President Mike Pence would refuse to certify Biden’s win, while Cruz ran point on a complementary plan in the Senate. Under Cruz’s plan, he and his fellow GOP senators would object to the results in six states and delay accepting the electoral college results in favor of an “audit” that would allow Republican state legislatures to overturn the results.
“It was a very dangerous proposal, and, you know, could very easily have put us into territory where we got to the inauguration and there was not a president,” said Jan. 6 Committee Vice Chair Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) on a podcast. “And I think that Senator Cruz knew exactly what he was doing. I think that Senator Cruz is somebody who knows what the Constitution calls for, knows what his duties and obligations are, and was willing, frankly, to set that aside.”
Eastman and Cruz have known each other since they clerked for then-U.S. Appeals Court Judge J. Michael Luttig in 1995. Now the Jan. 6 committee is trying to determine if the two communicated in the leadup to the insurrection as part of its broader effort to investigate how closely members of Congress coordinated with Trump allies. The committee is questioning a number of people about Cruz’s actions prior to Jan. 6 including Luttig, whom Cruz has described as “like a father to me.”
According to the Post, Cruz’s extraordinary efforts to help Trump overturn the election alienated some of his close allies, though the senator is likely more concerned with courting Trump’s base for a potential 2024 presidential bid.
In addition to their investigation of Cruz, the Jan. 6 committee has already had a busy week. On Monday, the committee voted to hold two former Trump aides in criminal contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with subpoenas. That same day, a federal judge ruled that Trump most likely committed felonies when he tried to overturn the election.
William serves as the Washington Correspondent for the Texas Signal, where he primarily writes about Congress and other federal issues that affect Texas. A graduate of Colorado College, William has worked on Democratic campaigns in Texas, Colorado, and North Carolina. He is an internet meme expert.
