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Brooks praises Hawley after he agrees to challenge election results in the Senate

Hawley is the first senator to announce that he also would object.

Congressman Mo Brooks

Congressman Mo Brooks on Wednesday praised Missouri Senator Josh Hawley after he said he would join Brooks and formally object to the Electoral College results from key swing states won by President-elect Joe Biden.

While dozens of Republicans in the House have joined Brooks’s cause, for an objection to be considered by Congress on Jan. 6, a member from each chamber has to object. Hawley is the first senator to announce that he also would object. This means that when a joint session of Congress is convened to certify the Electoral College results, Brooks’s and Hawley’s objection will force the joint session to end and both chambers to go back into separate sessions to consider the objection.

“I thank Senator Hawley for joining dozens of Congressmen’s fight for an honest and accurate election system that is the underpinning of America’s Republic!” Brooks said. “With America’s Republic at stake, we are fortunate to have leaders like Senator Hawley stand up and do what is right to ensure America remains the greatest nation in world history.”

Both Brooks and Hawley are former prosecutors.

“As Missouri’s former Attorney General, an experienced litigator, and renowned legal and constitutional scholar, Senator Hawley understands that Congress (not federal courts) is the final and ultimate judge, jury and arbiter of all contested federal elections,” Brooks claimed. “Too many states have blatantly violated Article I, Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution, violated federal election statutes, or willfully failed to obey their own state election laws, thereby opening the door to massive voter fraud, casting of illegal ballots, and election theft. These combined failures render some states’ election results untrustworthy. With a Senate cosponsor now joining this fight, Congressmen and Senators will face an easy vote: you can either acquiesce to and support voter fraud and election theft, or you can stand and fight for an honest and accurate election system that is the underpinning of America’s Republic. On January 6, on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives, I choose to fight!!!”

Hawley announced his decision Wednesday.

“Following both the 2004 and 2016 elections, Democrats in Congress objected during the certification of electoral votes in order to raise concerns about election integrity,” Hawley said. “They were praised by Democratic leadership and the media when they did. And they were entitled to do so. But now those of us concerned about the integrity of this election are entitled to do the same. I cannot vote to certify the electoral college results on January 6 without raising the fact that some states, particularly Pennsylvania, failed to follow their own state election laws. And I cannot vote to certify without pointing out the unprecedented effort of mega corporations, including Facebook and Twitter, to interfere in this election, in support of Joe Biden. At the very least, Congress should investigate allegations of voter fraud and adopt measures to secure the integrity of our elections. But Congress has so far failed to act. For these reasons, I will follow the same practice Democrat members of Congress have in years past and object during the certification process on January 6 to raise these critical issues.”

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The decision to object by Hawley takes some of the pressure off of Alabama’s Senator-elect Tommy Tuberville, who had faced considerable criticism after he said that he was considering objecting to the election results. There were even veiled threats that Alabama could be punished with a loss of federal contracts if the newly sworn-in senator defied the will of the Senate Republican Caucus on this.

Republican insider and Trump loyalist former State Rep. Perry Hooper Jr., R-Montgomery, is urging Tuberville and other senators to object to the certification of the 2020 presidential election results.

“I applaud Senator Hawley and Representative Mo Brooks for their decision to object to the Electoral College Certification of Joe Biden,” Hooper said. “Mo Brooks was the first member of Congress to step up to the plate, going on record that he was going to object to Joe Biden’s certification. This drew media Democrat criticism and Media condemnation, but he has stood strong. Since his announcement he has been joined by an ever-increasing number of House Republicans including Congressmen-elect Barry Moore and Jerry Carl of Alabama.”

“Senator-elect Tommy Tuberville has told me that he is leaning to objecting to the certification as well,” Hooper added. “I know Tommy, he loves this State, and he loves our Country. I am confident that he will join Senator Hawley in objecting to Joe Biden’s certification in the Senate.”

Tuberville campaign chairman Stan McDonald spoke recently with Dale Jackson on Huntsville radio’s WVNN to talk about the potential challenge.

“I think that probably he and Ted Cruz are probably the two best candidates to do this,” McDonald told Jackson. “I don’t know yet if or when he’ll do it. I do know that he’s very seriously considering it.”

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, has congratulated Biden on his victory on the floor of the Senate and is reportedly opposed to turning the Jan. 6 election certification into a public partisan free-for-all.

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“I don’t think it’s the Senate’s role to have a bunch of politicians in Washington overturn our presidential election,” said Senate Majority Whip John Thune, R-South Dakota. Thune said he would wait to hear the objections but that he would vote for the “Constitution and the rule of law.”

Some media and even other Republican politicians have suggested that Hawley, elected in 2018, is doing this to further his own political ambitions, including a possible run for the Republican nomination for president in 2024.

“Let’s be clear what is happening here: We have a bunch of ambitious politicians who think there’s a quick way to tap into the president’s populist base without doing any real, long-term damage,” said Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Nebraska. “But they’re wrong – and this issue is bigger than anyone’s personal ambitions. Adults don’t point a loaded gun at the heart of legitimate self-government.”

Trump is urging supporters to hold rallies in Washington D.C. on Jan. 6. Brooks is entering his sixth term representing Alabama’s 5th Congressional District.

Brandon Moseley is a former reporter at the Alabama Political Reporter.

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