Missouri paper urges disbarment proceedings against Josh Hawley: 'He must answer for his treasonous misdeeds'

On Tuesday, the editorial board of the Kansas City Star proposed Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) face disbarment proceedings for his role in opposing the certification of the Electoral College votes making former Vice President Joe Biden the next president.

Coupled with the storming of the U.S. Capitol by far-right extremists hellbent on keeping Donald Trump in power, the board went as far as to accuse Hawley of "treasonous misdeeds."

Making the case against the embattled Republican -- who is also facing calls to resign -- the Star reported that there is a growing demand among the Missouri legal community for the Yale Law School graduate to be banned from practicing law.

"At least 60 attorneys have attached their names to a formal complaint against Hawley, Kansas City attorney Hugh O'Donnell said. The group wants the Missouri Supreme Court's Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel to investigate the senator's actions leading up to the assault on the U.S. Capitol," the editorial states before adding, "Lawyers from St. Louis to Kansas City had been expected to file complaints after gathering the signatures."

Stating Hawley deserves "due process" as he is being investigated, the editors nonetheless wrote that "...history will not be kind to the junior senator... and [he] must answer for his treasonous misdeeds."

"There should be no question about Hawley's culpability, and his indefensible actions must have consequences. He helped lead the charge to try to overturn a free and fair election, echoing President Donald Trump's fabricated claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen and offering a fist pump of encouragement to the rioters who stormed our country's Capitol," the editorial continued.

According to Alan Hoffman, a retired attorney from St. Louis who has circulated a letter demanding Hawley face an investigation, "The accusations are serious enough to warrant disbarment. But that's not my determination to make."

Another attorney, Tom Porto of Kansas City went further, telling the Star, "As a fellow attorney, I am ashamed of him."

According to the editorial board, "While Hawley is far more focused on his political ambitions than on actually practicing law, an inquiry into whether Hawley violated rules of professional conduct could force him to answer for his actions."

They concluded," Hawley's actions were cynical, wrong, politically motivated and incendiary. He has dishonored his office — and his profession. Hawley violated the oath that all lawyers in Missouri swear to support the Constitution, and a formal investigation by the Office of Chief Disciplinary Counsel should hold him to account."