SPOKANE, Wash — Two Washington Congressional members and two Idaho Congressional members signed a legal document in support of a Texas lawsuit to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
Washington Republican Congressional Representatives Cathy McMorris Rodgers and Dan Newhouse and Idaho Republican Congressional Representatives Russ Fulcher and Mike Simpson all signed an Amicus brief in support of the lawsuit.
Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers provided the following statement to KREM:
As I have said before, President Trump has every right to pursue legal recourse in response to claims of voter fraud and election impropriety. With historic turnout, razor-thin margins, and massive changes to voting processes in the midst of a global pandemic, many people have had questions about the election and its results. This case is about the Supreme Court answering those questions for the American people so we can move forward. This amicus brief specifically focuses on Constitutional requirements for elections and the legal requirement that changes to election processes be approved by state legislatures, as well as the state laws which require election officials to check signatures on mail-in ballots. These are Constitutional principles of free and fair elections, and if they have been violated, the American people have a right to know.
Idaho Governor Brad Little also announced Thursday that he also supports the lawsuit. He said he plans to file an Amicus brief as well.
"Idaho's elections are safe and secure, and we expect the same of other states. Protecting the sanctity of the voting process is paramount to ensuring a strong democratic process, and our citizens need the confidence that their vote counts,” Governor Little said in a statement.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton says six states have joined Texas in its lawsuit challenging 2020 election results in four battleground states.
Earlier this week, Paxton filed a lawsuit against the states of Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, claiming their elections were unconstitutional despite there being no evidence to support the claim of widespread voter fraud or irregularities.
Paxton said Thursday that Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina and Utah formally joined the lawsuit.
The lawsuit says states exploited the COVID-19 pandemic to justify ignoring federal and state election laws.
The lawsuit also claims the states enacted last-minute changes, skewing the results of the 2020 general election.
Paxton said he believes the states flooded the citizens with unlawful ballot applications and ballots while ignoring statutory requirements, involving how they were received, evaluated and counted.
Paxton expressed how the trust of the citizens and the integrity of the 2020 election was compromised because of the violation of the statutes by the states.
President Donald Trump took to Twitter Thursday pressuring the Supreme Court to consider the lawsuit filed by Paxton. Seventeen other states AGs are backing the lawsuit that seeks to block Electoral College votes in key states Trump lost.
In essence, the suit aims to throw out millions of votes.
Paxton and 11 other AGs had a private lunch at the White House with the President on Thursday.
"This one really is a stretch," said Josh Blackman, a constitutional law professor at South Texas College of Law. "The purpose of this I think is to keep a dispute about the election alive."
Blackman said the lawsuit makes little legal sense.
"I don't say this lightly, but this is a frivolous case," Blackman said.
This afternoon, Pennsylvania filed its response to the Texas lawsuit. The state's attorney general wrote, "Texas' efforts to get this Court to pick the next President has no basis in law or fact."
"I see no chance the Supreme Court gets involved with this in any way," Blackman said.
Political analyst Bob Stein said the lawsuit is strictly a political move.
"I call it an insurance policy that Paxton has taken out along with other attorney generals," Stein said.
There's been no evidence of voter fraud. Stein argues Paxton filed this taxpayer-funded case to prove loyalty to Trump and prevent a primary challenge in 2022.
"He is still a force in the Republican party," Stein said. "Nobody wants to take the chance of crossing the President."
The Supreme Court must now decide whether to consider the case. If it does, Trump has asked Texas Sen. Ted Cruz to argue the case.
"It might rule today, tomorrow or Friday at midnight," Blackman said. "But I expect a ruling in the next couple of days at the latest."
