Elisa Cardnell, a veteran and former congressional challenger to Rep. Dan Crenshaw, is leading the charge among a group of veterans to investigate the Houston lawmaker.
Crenshaw landed in hot water last week after a report from the V.A.‘s Office of the Inspector General said Crenshaw accused a female vet of filing “frivolous” sexual complaints.
Following the release of the report, a group of veterans began signing onto a letter calling for Crenshaw to resign and for the House Ethics Committee to open an investigation into his conduct.
“His abuse of power as an elected member of Congress to smear a fellow veteran who works as a staffer in the same halls is disgraceful and unethical,” reads the letter, signed by Cardnell, former U.S. Senate candidate MJ Hegar, and 1,200 other veterans.
“As an elected member of the U.S. House of Representatives, Dan Crenshaw has failed to act in a manner that reflects credit on the House and has broken the public trust necessary to represent his constituents and fellow veterans,” the letter continues.
At least one other veteran’s group, the progressive anti-war veteran’s group Common Defense, is also calling for Crenshaw to resign.
On Tuesday, a watchdog group filed a complaint with the House Ethics Committee calling for Crenshaw’s removal as well.
“This is partisan garbage, and typical of the left’s reliance on narrative-building over facts,” Crenshaw tweeted Wednesday defending himself. “As I have stated repeatedly and unequivocally, I have never participated in a ‘smear campaign’ against anyone, much less a fellow veteran.”
Crenshaw also made headlines earlier this week for joining a majority of Texas’ GOP congressional delegation in not recognizing the results of the presidential election and signing onto Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s defunct lawsuit attempting to overturn the results.
Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images
Fernando covers Texas politics and government at the Texas Signal. Before joining the Signal, Fernando spent two years at the Houston Chronicle and previously interned at Houston’s NPR station News 88.7. He is a graduate of the University of Houston, Jack J. Valenti School of Communication, and enjoys reading, highlighting things, and arguing on social media. You can follow him on Twitter at @fernramirez93 or email at fernando@texassignalarchive.com
