The Congresswoman publishes a 2,000-page report listing Republican social media contributions to electoral fraud conspiracies

By Randall Perry On Mar 5, 2021

A Democratic Congresswoman published a nearly 2,000-page report compiling social media posts about the 2020 election from House Republicans who voted to discard the results. The report describes how some Republicans tirelessly promoted misinformation and conspiracy theories about election fraud and persisted after Trump supporters too attacked the US Capitol.

“Like former President Trump, every elected member of Congress who supported and encouraged the insurrection or instigated the attack has seriously threatened our democratic government,” writes representative Zoe Lofgren in the introduction to her report.

California lawmakers suggest that the social media posts could be used as evidence of possible punishments for these members of Congress, including expulsion and any criminal charges for the Capitol riot.

“Statements that are readily available to the public can be part of any consideration of the constitutional prerogatives and responsibilities of Congress,” writes Lofgren. “Accordingly, I asked my staff to take a quick look at the public social media posts from members who voted to overturn the 2020 presidential election.”

All of the information in the report was already publicly available, but this is the first comprehensive review of how lawmakers tirelessly promoted falsehoods about the elections on Facebook and Twitter. Between November 3, 2020 and January 31, 2021, it compiles submissions from the 147 House Republicans who voted to reject the election result.

The report shows that some of former President Donald Trump’s vocal supporters in the House of Representatives saw more than 100 attacks on the integrity of the elections in less than three months.

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Representative Paul Gosar was most productive as his contributions took up 177 pages of the report. The Republican’s messages in Arizona include false allegations that his own state “stole” the elections and support for protests against local election officials. In one post, he wrote that officials who “stole” votes were “rioting and betraying”.

Gosar’s office declined to comment on CBS News.

The contributions of Representative Mo Brooks of Alabama, one of the first members of Congress to publicly question Mr. Trump’s defeat, comprise 123 pages of the report. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican sworn in Congress on January 3, wrote nearly 100 pages.

The contributions reflect many popular conspiracy theories This was later refuted by investigations, including allegations that dead people voted and that Dominion voting machines cast votes for Joe Biden. Several Republicans in the House posted selfies of “Stop The Steal” Protests against the election results. Some also told supporters that Mr Trump actually won the election.

These falsehoods fueled the crowd of Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 as Congress counted the electoral votes confirming Mr Biden’s victory. The siege resulted in five deaths and resulted in Mr Trump being charged a second time just a week before his term ended.

But the report shows that even that did not change the tone of some Republicans, who continued to report electoral irregularities and “fraud” in the days following the uprising. Several equated the Capitol uprising with Antifa, Black Lives Matter, and the 2020 nationwide racial justice protests.

“Those who stir up riots and spread conspiracy theories have blood on their hands,” wrote Taylor Greene in a Jan. 7 tweet tying top Democrats to mob violence. “You have to be expelled.”