On the evening of December 8, 2021, Sen. Ted Cruz received an urgent call from then-President Donald Trump.
Trump notified Cruz that a lawsuit had been filed with the U.S. Supreme Court that would overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, and the president wanted to know if Cruz would agree to argue the case before the high court.
Cruz responded:
“Sure, I’d be happy to.”
For the next two months, according to Michael Kranish of The Washington Post, Cruz began “leading the charge” to try and guarantee that Joe Biden was never certified as the 46th President of the United States:
An examination by The Washington Post of Cruz’s actions between Election Day and Jan. 6, 2021, shows just how deeply he was involved, working directly with Trump to concoct a plan that came closer than widely realized to keeping him in power. As Cruz went to extraordinary lengths to court Trump’s base and lay the groundwork for his own potential 2024 presidential bid, he also alienated close allies and longtime friends who accused him of abandoning his principles.
Cruz’s actions — especially his coordination with Trump attorney John Eastman — have drawn the attention of the House Select Committee on the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection, and could result in the Texas Republican being referred to the Justice Department for criminal charges.
While the committee knew about Eastman’s attempts to interfere in certification of the 2020 vote, Cruz’s role has only recently come to light:
On Jan. 2, 2021, Cruz unveiled his plan for states to start an “emergency 10-day audit,”backed by 10 other senators. The idea was met with ridicule even from some of Trump’s most vociferous supporters. “Proposing a commission at this late date — which has zero chance of becoming reality — is not effectively fighting for President Trump,” Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) said on Twitter. The conservative magazine National Review lambasted the idea in an article headlined: “The Folly of the Cruz Eleven.”
All of this has put Cruz squarely in the center of the Jan. 6 committee’s recent efforts to better understand the actions of various people who were hellbent on making sure Trump remained in office no matter what the final ballot totals showed.
The Jan. 6 committee has asked a number of people about the senator’s actions in the lead-up to the insurrection. Among the questions the committee may address is whether Cruz talked with Trump or the president’s lawyers and aides as the events unfolded on Jan. 6.
Cruz, who initially agreed to answer questions from The Post about his role in the events leading up to the Capitol riots, later refused to comment:
Cruz, after initially agreeing to an interview with The Post at his Senate office, canceled shortly before it was to begin and declined to speak to a reporter. The Post then submitted a lengthy set of written questions, only some of which were addressed directly by Cruz’s spokeswoman.
Asked whether Cruz had communicated in any way with Eastman about challenging the election, the senator’s spokeswoman, Maria Jeffrey Reynolds, did not respond directly.
Only guilty people refuse to answer questions about their actions. And it certainly sounds like Sen. Cruz has enough guilt in the failed election coup to merit him being required to answer questions under oath.
