The move by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, filed in Pennsylvania, is supported, and supported by Donald Trump, using “flattery of false claims” in support of “judicial hooliganism,” a “real alternative.” Relying on “reality.”
State Attorney General Josh Shapiro wrote: “Texas wants to disqualify four state elections for the result, which it disagrees with. Requesting this court to exercise its real jurisdiction and then anoint the Texas presidential candidate is legally irresponsible and contrary to constitutional democratic principles. “
Mr. Trump lost four major states, and the action by Texas is an attempt to disqualify millions of votes, potentially leading to his election campaign. At the time of filing in the state courts, 106 Republican lawmakers had signed the Texas Brief in support of the delay in the president’s voter credentials.
Pennsylvania continues to file: “There is no legal or factual basis for Texas’ attempt to elect this court as its next president. The court should not pursue this heinous misuse of the judicial process, and send a clear and uncontrollable signal that such abuse should never be repeated. “
Entering his state, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel described the challenge as “unprecedented” and “without any factual basis or legitimate legal basis.” He wrote: “The election is over in Michigan. Texas should come as a stranger in this case can’t be heard here. ”
Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul called the lawsuit “an extraordinary intrusion into the Wisconsin and other defense state elections, an act that the Constitution leaves to each state.”
Georgia Attorney General Chris Kerr agreed and argued that the case did not meet the criteria for a court hearing: “Texas makes a general complaint that does not include the type of anti-state litigation for real jurisdiction. . “
He continued: “And in any case, there is another platform in which the parties (unlike Texas) can challenge the observance of Georgia’s own electoral laws: Georgia’s own courts.”
In addition to the four states named in the lawsuit, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost filed a lawsuit in the Supreme Court on Thursday opposing the Texas lawsuit. Mr. Trump won the state of Ohio, and Mr. Yost is a Republican.
Entering his state, Yost wrote that the court has the power to order state legislatures to appoint presidential voters, as Texas wants.
“The relief from Texas will undermine the very foundations of our federal system: the idea that the states are governed and are free to govern themselves,” Yost wrote.
“It is no longer the business of the courts to allow the people’s representatives to choose the electorate so that they can order the people to choose their own dinner,” he said.
There is a difference between filing Ohio and others. Mr Yost urges the court to rule on whether changes to state-made electoral laws are constitutional to meet the realities of the coronavirus epidemic.
“It’s not surprising – and many millions of Americans do – whether those hasty changes have weakened the electoral system,” he wrote.
Ms. Yost added, “It may be difficult to make a proposal at this late stage, which will not lead to equal or greater losses. “But there will be an election in 2024, four years later, and more.”
In the weeks since the election, the president and his allies have been pursuing more and more desperate legal strategies based on conspiracy theories.
Trump has called the Texas lawsuit “big” and “everyone is waiting.”
However, legal experts question whether the case meets the requirements set by the Supreme Court.
“Whatever the standard, Texas can’t meet it,” wrote Shapiro.
CBS News reported that it was Mike Johnson, a Republican congressman from Louisiana who was an aide to Mr. Trump, who sent an email to fellow lawmakers to briefly join in support of the Texas attorney general’s action. Encouraged for.
On Thursday, 196 House members joined Republicans in their summary with 105, alleging that “unprecedented serious allegations of fraud and irregularities in the 2020 election have been dealt with,” by governors, state courts and election officials. Were made. Officer.
A Republican congressman spoke out against the move. Chip Roy, of Texas, called the case, led by his state’s attorney general, a “dangerous violation of federalism,” which could set a precedent for a state to tell federal courts and police about other people’s voting procedures.
It is unknown at this time what he will do after leaving the post.
