WASHINGTON — Rep. Markwayne Mullin (Cherokee), who represents Oklahoma’s 2nd congressional district in Congress, signed his name to an amicus brief supporting the Texas Attorney General’s lawsuit against four battleground states that supported President-elect Biden for president in the 2020 presidential election.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton wants the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case. The lawsuit seeks to delay certification of presidential electors in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan, and Wisconsin.
UPDATE: The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday evening denied Texas Attorney General's attempt to sue the four states.
The lawsuit was brought by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and is now supported by 16 Republican attorney generals from 17 other states. Ten of the state attorney generals met with Trump for lunch at the White House on Thursday.
Some 106 members of Congress, all Republicans signed on the amicus brief. Some 90 Republicans did not sign the amicus brief.
“The American people must have faith in our election system and deserve certainty regarding the 2020 elections,” Mullin said. “Fair and honest elections are a pillar of our democracy and this brief asks the Supreme Court to fully consider the issues that have been seen in the states. We must all remain committed to protecting the integrity of our democracy and ensuring the will of the people succeeds.”
Mullin is one of four American Indians serving in the 116th Congress. The other Republican American Indian in Congress, Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK), did not sign the amicus brief.
The two other American Indians in Congress are Democrats. Rep. Deb Haaland (D-NM), and Rep. Shaice Davids (D-KS) are happy with the Biden victory.
The amicus brief was authored by Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) and reportedly urged by Trump in a last-ditch effort to overturn the presidential election. All states have certified their votes and states’ representatives will vote on Monday, December 14, in the electoral college. The tabulations from the votes show Biden won 306 electoral college votes to 232 for Trump.
"The simple objective of our brief is to affirm for the court (and our constituents back home) our serious concerns with the integrity of our election system," Johnson wrote in an email to his fellow members of Congress. "We are not seeking to independently litigate the particular allegations of fraud in our brief (this is not our place as amici). We will merely state our belief that the broad scope of the various allegations and irregularities in the subject states merits careful, timely review by the Supreme Court."
Most legal scholars maintain the lawsuit is without merit and think the Supreme Court will not accept the case.
If the Supreme Court accepts the lawsuit and rules in its favor, it would allow for unprecedented meddling from one state to other states’ affairs.
The only Republican member of Congress from Texas to oppose the lawsuit, Rep. Chip Roy said explained his opposition by saying the case "a dangerous violation of federalism and sets a precedent to have one state asking federal courts to police the voting procedures of other states."
"I cannot support an effort that will almost certainly fail on grounds of standing and is inconsistent with my beliefs about protecting Texas sovereignty from the meddling of other states," Roy said.
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT), the Republican Party’s 2012 presidential nominee, called the lawsuit “simply madness.”
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