Stefanik says judge in Jan. 6 cases 'suggested reelecting President Trump will lead to fascism'

WASHINGTON - Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., filed a complaint and requested an ethics investigation Friday against a federal judge who has presided over key Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack cases.

Stefanik alleged in her complaint, first obtained by NBC News, that Beryl Howell engaged in an inappropriate political speech last month and “suggested reelecting President Trump will lead to fascism in America.”

The complaint refers to a speech Howell gave at the annual gala of the Women’s White Collar Defense Association after accepting an award. She warned about the impact of burying facts and its role in rising authoritarianism.

“My D.C. judicial colleagues and I regularly see the impact of big lies at the sentencing of hundreds, hundreds of individuals who have been convicted for offense conduct on Jan. 6, 2021, when they disrupted the certification of the 2020 presidential election at the U.S. Capitol,” said Howell.

She later added, “‘We are having a very surprising and downright troubling moment in this country when the very importance of facts is dismissed, or ignored.”

Howell, who was appointed by former President Barack Obama, does not mention Trump by name in the speech.

Stefanik alleged that Howell’s speech consisted of “partisan statements, election interference, and improper extrajudicial statements while criminal cases are pending.”

“Judge Howell promoted the Democrat political campaign theme that the re-election of Donald Trump equates to America choosing authoritarianism. This is conduct unbecoming of a federal judge,” reads the complaint.

In November, Stefanik filed an ethics complaint against Judge Arthur Engoron accusing him of “weaponized lawfare” against the president, according to NBC News.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Rep. Elise Stefanik files complaint against judge who oversaw key Jan. 6 cases