Google stops donations to Republicans who questioned election results

Google has cut contributions to Republicans in the US Congress who voted against certifying the results of the disputed 2020 presidential election.

Google said on Tuesday it would halt political contributions for lawmakers who voted against certifying the election of President Joe Biden, citing the deadly US Capitol violence earlier this month.

Following the January 6 riot on Capitol Hill, the US-based global tech giant had paused all political contributions to reassess its policies by Google's political action committee, known as the Google NetPAC Board of Directors—a bipartisan group of senior Googlers—responsible for making all the final decisions about the contributions made toward political contribution.

Capitol Hill riots expose US ‘democracy for the sham that it is’: Scholar

The recent riots at Capitol Hill by Trump’s supporters have exposed American “democracy for the sham that it is,” American political analyst Dennis Etler has said.

"Following that review, the NetPAC board has decided that it will not be making any contributions this cycle to any member of Congress who voted against certification of the election results," a Google representative said in a statement on Monday.

Right-wing loyalists supporting former President Donald Trump stormed the halls of Congress on that day in a bid to turn the election result, clashing  with police in the building and delaying for hours the certification of the presidency of Joe Biden by lawmakers.

Following the incident, several corporate firms paused campaign donations and said they were reviewing their policies.

Republicans in Congress faced blowback from the incident and many big companies, including Amazon, AT&T, Comcast and Verizon Communications, threatened to cut fundraising resources for Republicans. 

Among these companies AT&T and Comcast were among the biggest corporate donors in Washington.

Other tech firms including Facebook and Microsoft also paused donations after the January 6 riot.

The move to cut donations to Republican lawmakers comes as major tech firms and other companies seek to distance themselves from the lies and misinformation about the election promoted by the former president Trump and his supporters.

All the 147 Republican lawmakers who voted against Biden's certification have been accused of complicity with Trump in his attempt to turn the US election.

Trump, who spent weeks both before and after his November defeat making claims about election fraud, has blasted companies cutting him off.

Trump blasts Twitter for 'banning free speech'

US President Donald Trump blasts Twitter for "banning free speech" after the micro-blogging platform censored his accounts for inciting violence.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who had called the suspension of the Commander in Chief of the US Armed Forces from Twitter services "a serious mistake", was one of the lawmakers who expressed support for Trump

"Twitter may ban me for this but I willingly accept that fate: Your decision to permanently ban President Trump is a serious mistake" he said. 

Meanwhile, Trump has faced serious backlash following his role in inciting the riot at the Capitol.

Trump faces a Senate impeachment trial for inciting his loyalists to attack the Capitol.

American political analyst and academic Dennis Etler has pointed out that the attack exposed American “democracy for the sham that it is.”

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