Sen. Ted Cruz (R) faces an ethics complaint in Texas for his role in the effort to overturn the 2020 election, from a bipartisan group that seeks disciplinary actions against dozens of lawyers who brought challenges to support former President Donald Trump’s unsubstantiated fraud claims.
The 65 Project filed the complaint with the State Bar of Texas on Wednesday.
It accuses Cruz of playing a “leading role” as a lawyer when he represented Pennsylvania Republicans and the former president before the US Supreme Court in two cases. It cites Cruz’s efforts to throw out all Pennsylvania absentee ballots cast in the election, numerous allegations of voter fraud, and his aim to stop four states from using election results to appoint electors.
“Cruz knew that the allegations he was echoing had already been reviewed and rejected by courts,” the complaint said. “And he knew that the claims of voter fraud or the election being stolen were false.”
The Supreme Court rejected both cases in December 2020.
Trump insisted he was the legitimate winner of the 2020 election, filing several lawsuits in an effort to overturn the results. None of these efforts succeeded, and many state bars have already imposed sanctions against lawyers who participated on these lawsuits, which the complaint cited.
The group wants the state bar’s Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel to investigate Cruz’s conduct and impose appropriate discipline, according to the complaint. Cruz should be disciplined “just” as Rudy Giuliani has been for his conduct, citing his law license suspension by a New York appellate court. Giuliani was one of Trump’s lawyers who oversaw the former president campaign’s efforts to overturn the election.
Cruz’s office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Earlier this year, the 65 Project filed an ethics complaint against Trump attorney Cleta Mitchell in Washington, D.C., for allegedly making false statements and assisting in criminal and fraudulent behavior.
William Carver and Daryl Moody in Georgia and Andrew Hitt and Jim Troupis in Wisconsin were also served with complaints, on allegations that they fraudulently claimed to be presidential electors or helped Trump orchestrate a fake set of presidential electors.
The 65 Project takes its name from the 65 lawsuits it said were brought seeking to overturn the 2020 election.
To contact the reporter on this story:
To contact the editors responsible for this story:
To read more articles log in.
Learn more about a Bloomberg Law subscription.