Former President Donald Trump welcomes candidate for U.S. Senate and U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) to the stage during a "Save America" rally at York Family Farms on August 21, 2021 in Cullman, Alabama. (Photo: Chip Somodevilla/via Getty Images)
Mar 23, 2022
Critics hit at Rep. Mo Brooks on Wednesday after the Republican from Alabama claimed that former President Donald Trump personally asked him to "rescind the 2020 elections" and keep President Joe Biden out of the White House.
The public admission--which government watchdog group CREW called "an extraordinary allegation against Donald Trump," especially given his silence of the exchange until now--came in a statement on Brooks' U.S. Senate campaign site and followed news that the former president yanked his endorsement of Brooks earlier in the day.
Brooks--a former ally of Trump, "Big Lie" promoter, and self-described "America First candidate"--was among the lawmakers who, in the wake of the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, voted against certifying Biden's win. Following the insurrection, Brooks also faced a lawsuit over his role in ginning up the mob that attacked the Capitol.
In his Wednesday statement, Brooks said that he's repeating "what has prompted President Trump's ire," which was that "the only legal way America can prevent 2020's election debacle is for patriotic Americans to focus on and win the 2022 and 2024 elections so that we have the power to enact laws that give us honest and accurate elections."
"President Trump asked me to rescind the 2020 elections, immediately remove Joe Biden from the White House, immediately put President Trump back in the White House, and hold a new special election for the presidency," Brooks continued. "As a lawyer, I've repeatedly advised President Trump that January 6 was the final election contest verdict and neither the U.S. Constitution nor the U.S. Code permit what President Trump asks. Period."
Weighing in on Brook's new admission, journalist Jon Walker tweeted: "So a sitting Republican member of Congress is saying he personally witnessed Trump engage in election fraud and sedition. It is the eventual end of American democracy if Trump is not arrested."
Brooks' statement also drew a response from Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.), who suggested the GOP congressman ran afoul of his constitutional obligations.
Beyer noted in a Twitter thread that Brooks was "a leader of Trump's push to illegally overturn the 2020 election" and "continued to be a vocal Trump supporter for over a year after the time he now says Trump directed him to lead an illegal attempt to overthrow our government."
"Brooks has made a number of public statements that deserve revisiting in light of this significant admission," said Beyer, as he noted the Alabama congressman's suggestion that it was "fascist ANTIFA" who "infiltrated" the January 6 pro-Trump rally to attack the Capitol. Breyer also rebuked Brooks for characterizing those who refused to certify Biden's presidential win as "brave Congressmen who fought for honest and accurate elections."
"I can't imagine getting a request to illegally overthrow the lawful United States government and hiding it, let alone continuing to publicly support the person who made it," said Beyer. "We swear an oath to defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic."
Responding to Trump's unendorsement of Brooks, Jessica Floyd, president of American Bridge 21st Century, an advocacy group supporting the Democratic Party, saw further evidence of the extreme direction Republicans are heading.
"As the leader of the Republican Party, Donald Trump has made his demands abundantly clear--say you'll overturn the 2020 election, or lose his support and face banishment," she said. "GOP candidates across the country have gotten the message, and are loudly pushing to dismantle our democracy," Floyd continued. "They will stop at nothing, unless someone stops them first."
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Critics hit at Rep. Mo Brooks on Wednesday after the Republican from Alabama claimed that former President Donald Trump personally asked him to "rescind the 2020 elections" and keep President Joe Biden out of the White House.
The public admission--which government watchdog group CREW called "an extraordinary allegation against Donald Trump," especially given his silence of the exchange until now--came in a statement on Brooks' U.S. Senate campaign site and followed news that the former president yanked his endorsement of Brooks earlier in the day.
Brooks--a former ally of Trump, "Big Lie" promoter, and self-described "America First candidate"--was among the lawmakers who, in the wake of the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, voted against certifying Biden's win. Following the insurrection, Brooks also faced a lawsuit over his role in ginning up the mob that attacked the Capitol.
In his Wednesday statement, Brooks said that he's repeating "what has prompted President Trump's ire," which was that "the only legal way America can prevent 2020's election debacle is for patriotic Americans to focus on and win the 2022 and 2024 elections so that we have the power to enact laws that give us honest and accurate elections."
"President Trump asked me to rescind the 2020 elections, immediately remove Joe Biden from the White House, immediately put President Trump back in the White House, and hold a new special election for the presidency," Brooks continued. "As a lawyer, I've repeatedly advised President Trump that January 6 was the final election contest verdict and neither the U.S. Constitution nor the U.S. Code permit what President Trump asks. Period."
Weighing in on Brook's new admission, journalist Jon Walker tweeted: "So a sitting Republican member of Congress is saying he personally witnessed Trump engage in election fraud and sedition. It is the eventual end of American democracy if Trump is not arrested."
Brooks' statement also drew a response from Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.), who suggested the GOP congressman ran afoul of his constitutional obligations.
Beyer noted in a Twitter thread that Brooks was "a leader of Trump's push to illegally overturn the 2020 election" and "continued to be a vocal Trump supporter for over a year after the time he now says Trump directed him to lead an illegal attempt to overthrow our government."
"Brooks has made a number of public statements that deserve revisiting in light of this significant admission," said Beyer, as he noted the Alabama congressman's suggestion that it was "fascist ANTIFA" who "infiltrated" the January 6 pro-Trump rally to attack the Capitol. Breyer also rebuked Brooks for characterizing those who refused to certify Biden's presidential win as "brave Congressmen who fought for honest and accurate elections."
"I can't imagine getting a request to illegally overthrow the lawful United States government and hiding it, let alone continuing to publicly support the person who made it," said Beyer. "We swear an oath to defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic."
Responding to Trump's unendorsement of Brooks, Jessica Floyd, president of American Bridge 21st Century, an advocacy group supporting the Democratic Party, saw further evidence of the extreme direction Republicans are heading.
"As the leader of the Republican Party, Donald Trump has made his demands abundantly clear--say you'll overturn the 2020 election, or lose his support and face banishment," she said. "GOP candidates across the country have gotten the message, and are loudly pushing to dismantle our democracy," Floyd continued. "They will stop at nothing, unless someone stops them first."
Critics hit at Rep. Mo Brooks on Wednesday after the Republican from Alabama claimed that former President Donald Trump personally asked him to "rescind the 2020 elections" and keep President Joe Biden out of the White House.
The public admission--which government watchdog group CREW called "an extraordinary allegation against Donald Trump," especially given his silence of the exchange until now--came in a statement on Brooks' U.S. Senate campaign site and followed news that the former president yanked his endorsement of Brooks earlier in the day.
Brooks--a former ally of Trump, "Big Lie" promoter, and self-described "America First candidate"--was among the lawmakers who, in the wake of the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, voted against certifying Biden's win. Following the insurrection, Brooks also faced a lawsuit over his role in ginning up the mob that attacked the Capitol.
In his Wednesday statement, Brooks said that he's repeating "what has prompted President Trump's ire," which was that "the only legal way America can prevent 2020's election debacle is for patriotic Americans to focus on and win the 2022 and 2024 elections so that we have the power to enact laws that give us honest and accurate elections."
"President Trump asked me to rescind the 2020 elections, immediately remove Joe Biden from the White House, immediately put President Trump back in the White House, and hold a new special election for the presidency," Brooks continued. "As a lawyer, I've repeatedly advised President Trump that January 6 was the final election contest verdict and neither the U.S. Constitution nor the U.S. Code permit what President Trump asks. Period."
Weighing in on Brook's new admission, journalist Jon Walker tweeted: "So a sitting Republican member of Congress is saying he personally witnessed Trump engage in election fraud and sedition. It is the eventual end of American democracy if Trump is not arrested."
Brooks' statement also drew a response from Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.), who suggested the GOP congressman ran afoul of his constitutional obligations.
Beyer noted in a Twitter thread that Brooks was "a leader of Trump's push to illegally overturn the 2020 election" and "continued to be a vocal Trump supporter for over a year after the time he now says Trump directed him to lead an illegal attempt to overthrow our government."
"Brooks has made a number of public statements that deserve revisiting in light of this significant admission," said Beyer, as he noted the Alabama congressman's suggestion that it was "fascist ANTIFA" who "infiltrated" the January 6 pro-Trump rally to attack the Capitol. Breyer also rebuked Brooks for characterizing those who refused to certify Biden's presidential win as "brave Congressmen who fought for honest and accurate elections."
"I can't imagine getting a request to illegally overthrow the lawful United States government and hiding it, let alone continuing to publicly support the person who made it," said Beyer. "We swear an oath to defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic."
Responding to Trump's unendorsement of Brooks, Jessica Floyd, president of American Bridge 21st Century, an advocacy group supporting the Democratic Party, saw further evidence of the extreme direction Republicans are heading.
"As the leader of the Republican Party, Donald Trump has made his demands abundantly clear--say you'll overturn the 2020 election, or lose his support and face banishment," she said. "GOP candidates across the country have gotten the message, and are loudly pushing to dismantle our democracy," Floyd continued. "They will stop at nothing, unless someone stops them first."
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