President and Seventeen States Pledge Support for Texas’ Lawsuit Challenging Election

Yesterday we brought you the story of Texas’ lawsuit against four battleground states that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed with the U.S. Supreme Court over election irregularities. Overnight, President Donald Trump has pledged to intervene as a party to the suit, while 17 states filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court echoing Texas’ arguments. Additionally, both U.S. senators from Georgia, a defendant in the case, voiced their support as well.

The Texas suit, filed with the high court late Monday evening, is moving quickly. The justices issued an order on Tuesday requiring Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan and Georgia, the defendants in the action, to file responses with the court by Thursday.

President Trump has pledged to join the lawsuit. He tweeted, “We will be INTERVENING in the Texas (and many other states) case. This is the big one. Our Country needs a victory!”

Announcements from four of the 17 states pledging support for the Texas lawsuit came from their respective attorneys general.

Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge tweeted, “After reviewing the motion filed by Texas in the U.S. Supreme Court, I have determined that I will support the motion in all legally appropriate manners. The integrity of our elections is a critical part of our nation and it must be upheld.”

Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry issue a statement backing the Texas effort, saying, “Millions of Louisiana citizens, and tens of millions of our fellow citizens in the country, have deep concerns regarding the conduct of the 2020 federal elections. Deeply rooted in these concerns is the fact that some states appear to have conducted their elections with a disregard to the U.S. Constitution.

“Furthermore, many Louisianans have become more frustrated as some in media and the political class try to sidestep legitimate issues for the sake of expediency.

“Louisiana citizens are damaged if elections in other states were conducted outside the confines of the Constitution while we obeyed the rules.”

Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmidt also signaled his state’s endorsement. In a tweet, Schmidt said, “Election integrity is central to our republic. And I will defend it at every turn. As I have in other cases – I will help lead the effort in support of Texas’ #SCOTUS filing today. Missouri is in the fight.”

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall released a statement indicating his state might enter the fray if the Supreme Court allows the suit to proceed.

“The unconstitutional actions and fraudulent votes in other states not only affect the citizens of those states, they affect the citizens of all states – of the entire United States. Every unlawful vote counted, or lawful vote uncounted, debases and dilutes citizens’ free exercise of the franchise. The state of Alabama will continue to pursue any legal remedy available to protect her people from such disenfranchisement. Both our rights and our republic demand it,” Marshall said.

Georgia’s Republican Senators Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue, both locked in important run-off races scheduled for January 5, released a joint statement of encouragement, even though their own state is a target of the Texas suit.

“We fully support President Trump’s legal recourses and Attorney General Paxton’s lawsuit. The President has every right to use every legal recourse available to guarantee these simple principles: every lawful vote cast should be counted, any illegal vote submitted cannot be counted, and there must be full transparency and uniformity in the counting process,” the two senators said.

Georgia Deputy Secretary of State Jordan Fuchs does not share Loeffler and Perdue’s perspective. The claims in Texas’ lawsuit “are false and irresponsible,” he said in a statement after Texas AG Paxton announced the legal action.

“Texas alleges that there are 80,000 forged signatures on absentee ballots in Georgia, but they don’t bring forward a single person who this happened to. That’s because it didn’t happen,” Fuchs’ statement said.

Democrat officials in the defendant states expressed strong opposition to the Texas lawsuit. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel called it “a publicity stunt.” Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul reacted by stating, “This suit really is embarrassing for Texas. It’s a waste of tax dollars, and I feel sorry for Texas residents that their tax dollars are being spent on this.”

The Electoral College electors are scheduled to cast their ballots for president and vice president on December 14. The Supreme Court will undoubtedly issue some type of order before then. We’ll be sure to keep you up to date on developments.

Photo from ERIN SCOTT/REUTERS