Ethics Complaint Filed Against Texas Republican for ‘Hot Mic’ Moment

A conservative nonprofit government oversight group filed an ethics complaint against Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, on Tuesday, arguing that his recent “hot microphone” comment about wanting to “kill” journalist Tucker Carlson violates congressional decorum rules.

“[We are writing] today to request that you immediately open an investigation of Representative Dan Crenshaw for violation of the Rules of the House of Representatives,” reads the American Accountability Foundation’s letter to the Office of Congressional Ethics.

The complaint stems from a hot mic moment Monday at the end of an interview at the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship conference in London, in which Crenshaw said he would “kill” Carlson.

“Have you ever met Tucker?” a journalist asked Crenshaw.

“We’ve talked a lot on Twitter. If I ever meet him, I’ll f—ing kill him,” Crenshaw replied.

Crenshaw’s remarks came after an interview in which he addressed Carlson’s criticism of the lawmaker’s support of U.S. funding for Ukraine, saying, “Tucker doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”

The American Accountability Foundation, led by former Senate staffer Tom Jones, is now demanding the Congressional Ethics Office investigate, unless Crenshaw apologizes.

“There is no reasonable construction of creditable behavior which includes threatening innocent journalists simply for disagreeing with a member [of Congress],” reads the complaint.

“Unless Representative Crenshaw is willing to publicly and unequivocally renounce his death threat against Tucker Carlson—to send a clear message that what he did was wrong—then the Committee must immediately open an investigation of him with an eye toward expelling Mr. Crenshaw.”