Tester calls for consequences for President Trump's enablers in congress

Montana’s senior senator said Wednesday that members of Congress who objected to certifying the results of the presidential election should have to face the consequences.

“If you do stupid stuff, you should make amends, and the enablers did some real stupid stuff,” Sen. Jon Tester said Wednesday during an interview in Havre.

He said members of Congress who objected to the votes bear part of the responsibility for the attack by spreading misinformation or by needlessly objecting to legitimately cast electoral votes.

“The president is the one everybody talks about, and he should be held responsible, but so should the people who enabled him to do this,” Tester said.

He said he believes that without elected officials parroting the false claims of the president, the events at the Capitol, which he said were a direct attack on American Democracy, would not have played out like they did.

USA Today published Tuesday an opinion piece submitted by Tester calling for members of Congress who objected to Electoral College votes to be held accountable for their actions in the wake of the domestic terrorist attack on the Capitol Building last week.

In the op-ed he did not name the other members of Montana’s congressional delegation, Rep. Matt Rosendale R-Mont., or Sen. Steve Daines R-Mont., who objected to the electoral vote before the attack but in Wednesday’s interview said everyone who enabled President Donald Trump’s false claims of voter fraud should face consequences.

After the riot in the Capitol building, Daines ended up voting to certify the Electoral College results, but Rosendale voted against.

Tester said the Senate needs to discuss consequences for members who repeatedly spread misinformation about the election and worked to undermine trust in it and said everything from the reassignment of committees to expulsion should be on the table.

These sentiments have been publicly expressed by people throughout the U.S.

When asked by Havre Daily News for comment about his responsibility for the events on Jan. 6, and the possible consequences of it, Daines did not directly address the question.

“Calls to censure or reprimand members of Congress does nothing more than fan the flames of partisan political division,” he said. “Now is the time to stand united, move forward together and have a peaceful transition of our government.

“We are the greatest country in the world,” he added. “We must stand united, no matter your political stripes, to condemn violence and commit to a peaceful transfer of power. On January 20th, President-Elect Joe Biden will be inaugurated and to protect our democracy, constitution and rule of law, all Americans should accept it and move forward.”

Rosendale spokesperson Harry Fones did not comment beyond saying the representative has condemned the actions of the attackers and that he’s addressed the matter in interviews with other news agencies.

Tester said what happened Jan. 6 cannot be taken lightly and will have long lasting negative consequences for democracy in the U.S.

”I was in second grade when John F Kennedy was killed, I remember that,” he said. “I remember when the space shuttle blew up, I remember the attacks of 9/11, I remember all of that stuff ... this is the most serious affront to our country and our form of government by far. And if we don’t make sure there are consequences for inappropriate actions it will happen again.”

He said the reversal of many of his colleagues in Congress who voted to affirm President-Elect Joe Biden’s victory only after the attack on the Capitol are not off the hook, and he’s baffled by those that didn’t change course.

“I don’t think you get a badge of courage for changing you position after the Senate is overrun by a bunch of domestic terrorists,” he said. “If that doesn’t get your attention, I don’t know what ever will. And the people that didn’t change their vote, I don’t understand, I don’t think I’ll ever understand.”

Daines and many others in Congress said they’re aim in objecting to electoral votes and demanding the creation of an electoral commission to look into allegations of fraud, improper conduct, and irregularities were an attempt to increase the public’s trust in the process, but Tester said he thinks this is a lie.

“They say they want another commission and then everything is going to be hunky dory? No. I think they’re being untruthful,” he said.

He said the elections were certified by the states and more 60 court cases have been filed by the President and his allies alleging fraud, irregularities or improper conduct and all have been deemed without merit, and this demand for a commission is just another attempt to undermine trust, not increase it.

Responding to criticism

Daines spokesperson Katie Schoettler released a statement in response to Tester’s op-ed criticizing his own rhetoric for a comment Tester made in an interview on MSNBC in 2018 when he said, in response to Joe Scarborough asking him how Democrats should confront Donald Trump on issues in a state that voted for him by over 20 points, “I don’t think, even in states where Donald Trump won big, that it does you any good running away, I think you need to go back and punch him in the face.”

Schoettler said Tester’s motivations are not driven by a desire to hold criminals responsible for the attack but to silence the president’s supporters.

“Calling senators and congressmen traitors is inexcusable,” she said. “His outrage is an effort to silence not the criminals who assaulted the Capitol but the vast majority of peaceful, patriotic supporters of President Trump, and strong majority of his own Montana constituents who just overwhelmingly elected Sen. Daines and Congressman Rosendale over his preferred candidates.”

Tester said his response to Scarborough was, in hindsight, an ill-advised but clearly non-literal phrase, and comparing what he said to inciting a violent insurrection is not even close to equivalent, and is nothing more than a distraction.

“He wants to take the focus off his inappropriate actions,” he said.

After the interview, Tester spokesperson Andy Bixler also released a direct response to Schoettler’s comments.

“Sen. Tester is proud to stand with Montanans and the overwhelming majority of Americans who supported a peaceful transfer of power before, during, and after January 6th, 2021,” he said. ”To those grappling with their role in last week’s events, Sen. Tester welcomes their change of heart and hopes they’ll accept responsibility.”

Concern about future attacks

Tester said, he’s concerned with the chatter he’s seen online regarding a repeat of Jan. 6’s events on Inauguration Day, and that many of the people who took part in the attack are ready and willing to do it again.

“They’re reveling in what they have accomplished,” he said.

He said he doesn’t think Inauguration Day will go horribly wrong just because of increased security in the wake of the attack, but there will almost inevitably be attempts to repeat the events of last week.