The most courageous man in the world is locked up in a Moscow prison — his life in the balance.
The most cowardly men in the world cool their heels comfortably in Washington — their lives a guarantee of gilded privilege.
Alexei Anatolievich Navalny, the Russian opposition leader, was poisoned in Siberia with a nerve agent allegedly on orders from President Vladimir Putin but miraculously survived after being medically evacuated to a hospital in Germany.
Let’s remember that U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley hid in the bowels of the Capitol during the Jan. 6 insurrection. The coup attempt was, in part, incited by the senators’ own highly publicized false claims of voter fraud in the recent presidential election. The senators chose party — specifically, fealty to Donald Trump — and their own political ambitions over preserving U.S. democracy through the peaceful transfer of power.
On Jan. 2, 2021, four days before the attack on the Capitol, Cruz addressed a crowd in Cumming, Georgia, where he said, “Just like the patriots who forged this nation, the men and women gathered here and across the state of Georgia are fighting for the United States of America. … You are fighting for my freedoms, and I am grateful to be shoulder to shoulder with you.”
However, as his allies violently tried to overthrow the will of more than 91 million American voters, Cruz was nowhere to be found.
Navalny could have taken the easy way out by safely opposing Putin from abroad and never returning to his homeland, but he chose country over self. Despite the very real risk to his life, he returned to Russia. Navalny said, “The question of returning or not was never before me. … I am not afraid.”
Cruz and Hawley were very much afraid. Hawley’s now-infamous sprint to safety might lead to an invite to the next Summer Olympics. Cruz was probably securing an upgrade on his next Cancun flight.
The domestic terrorists heartily shared the beliefs of both senators, who claimed that President Joe Biden’s victory should be investigated because of accusations of unsubstantiated voter fraud in key swing states. Earlier that fateful day, Hawley gestured his support with a fist pump at the Save America rally that turned into a failed coup. During the bloody insurrection, one rioter was recorded referencing Cruz as the rioter went through documents in the Senate chambers. “I think Cruz would want us to do this,” he said. You bet he would.
When Navalny landed by commercial jet in Moscow, he bravely and resolutely faced his Russian assassins, who quickly arrested him on the usual trumped-up charges for which Russia’s infamously corrupt judicial system is known. He now languishes in prison, where he will no doubt perish.
During the breaching of the U.S. Capitol, Cruz and Hawley used the time in their safe spaces to fundraise off the unrest. Hawley’s fundraising text message said he was “leading the charge to fight for free and fair elections.” Cruz sent two fundraising pleas, one a text message and one in an email.
Navalny was poisoned with the chemical weapon Novichok, which was also used against former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and daughter Yulia in England in 2018. They also survived. No private citizens would have the means to obtain Novichok. Only an outlaw nation such as Russia would have such access. Russia denied both assassination attempts, as well as responsibility for the polonium-210 poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko in London.
The same day as the Capitol riot, Cruz and Hawley voted against certifying the free and fair election of Biden.
On Jan. 21, 2021, seven U.S. senators filed a complaint against Cruz and Hawley, asking the Senate Ethics Committee to “open an investigation into the actions of Senators Hawley and Cruz” because they failed in their duty to “ ‘put loyalty to the highest moral principles and to country above loyalty to persons, party, or Government department’ or engaged in improper conduct.” The complaint also noted: “Further investigation is necessary to determine whether and to what extent Senators Cruz and Hawley were also aware of these groups’ activities or coordinated with their efforts.”
Nothing came of this complaint.
At this writing, Navalny is in Moscow’s notorious Matrosskaya Tishina prison, the same infamous hellhole where exiled Russian oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky served time at the behest of Putin. Once the richest man in Russia, Khodorkovsky recently tweeted about the prison’s conditions: “It’s tough in the beginning. And not much easier after. You can be killed at any minute.”
Cruz and Hawley are free men, enjoying all the benefits and perks we the taxpayers bestow on Congress. Rumor has it that both senators are considering entering the presidential race in 2024. And why not? Running is what they do.
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ABOUT THE WRITER
Stephen J. Lyons is the author of five books of essays and journalism. His forthcoming book, “Searching for A Way Home: Misadventures with Misanthropes and Family,” will be published next summer.
