Around 20 House GOP members are asking the leaders of Congress, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), to provide hearings on election fraud ahead of the Joint Session of Congress in January when members read the Electoral College votes.
“Under the Constitution and federal statutes, Congress is responsible for resolving all federal election contests for President, the Senate, and the House,” wrote Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.), who has previously said he will attempt to challenge certain states’ Electoral College votes on Jan. 6 when the Joint Session meets.
The letter, written by Brooks and signed by 19 other GOP House members, was sent to the heads of several Senate and House committees.
They are asking that the chairs of those panels “immediately convene and hold hearings that ... probe all allegations of illegal conduct concerning” the Nov. 3 election, “investigate systemic problems” affecting the election system, and hear from experts to explore solutions about “fraudulent and illegal votes that restores faith that America can hold a free and fair election.”
Brooks’s letter noted that the election, having been the subject of lawsuits alleging voter fraud or illegal voting, might become the subject of floor debate on Jan. 6, when the Joint Session of Congress convenes to count the Electoral College votes.
Brooks and several other lawmakers have indicated they will attempt to challenge the Electoral College votes when they’re being read on the floor.
“Federal courts and the Supreme Court have had no trials on, no substantive evidentiary hearings on, and declined to rule on the merits of numerous voter fraud, illegal voting, and election theft allegations in dozens of lawsuits,” the letter reads.
Citing the U.S. Constitution’s “Election Clause” in Article I, Section 4, Brooks noted that Congress is the body that sets the times, places, and manner of elections that involve federal officials. Meanwhile, state legislatures have the power to set the times, places, and manner of elections if they do not conflict with Congress’s laws, according to the letter.
Other than Brooks, Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.) have expressed a willingness to contest the Electoral College votes. The move requires at least one House member and Senator to do so.
