News (1)
Pennsylvania House Leaders File Brief to Support Texas in Supreme Court Lawsuit Against Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania’s House speaker and majority leader on Thursday filed an amici curiae brief with the Supreme Court against the state of Pennsylvania and in favor of Texas’s lawsuit against the commonwealth and three other states.
A brief (pdf) filed by Pennsylvania House Speaker Bryan Cutler and Majority Leader Kerry Benninghoff, both Republicans, requests that the Supreme Court “carefully consider the procedural issues and questions raised by the Plaintiff concerning the administration of the 2020 General Election in Pennsylvania.”
“The unimpeachability of our elections requires clear procedures of administration so that everyone gets a fair shake. Unfortunately, outside actors have so markedly twisted and gerrymandered the Commonwealth’s Election Code to the point that amici find it unrecognizable from the laws that they enacted,” they wrote, adding that the state of Texas “raised important questions about how this procedural malfeasance affected the 2020 General Election.”
In the lawsuit, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton alleged that Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan, and Wisconsin introduced changes to election laws, deeming them unconstitutional. The suit also contends that by doing so, those states treated voters unequally and created significant voting irregularities by rescinding certain ballot-integrity measures.
Filed on Monday night, the lawsuit is requesting the Supreme Court to declare the four states carried out their respective elections in violation of the U.S. Constitution.
“The states violated statutes enacted by their duly elected legislatures, thereby violating the Constitution. By ignoring both state and federal law, these states have not only tainted the integrity of their own citizens’ vote, but of Texas and every other state that held lawful elections,” Paxton said in a statement announcing the legal petition.
Cutler and Benninghoff, in support of Paxton’s lawsuit, further stipulated that “under the pretextual guise of COVID-19, special interests began attempting to use Pennsylvania courts” to carry out “election procedures of their own choosing,” citing mail-in ballot extensions implemented by Kathy Boockvar, the Pennsylvania secretary of state.
Also on Thursday, Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro filed a brief with the court, arguing that Paxton’s assertions are frivolous and an attempt to “disenfranchise voters” in the commonwealth.
“Its request for this Court to exercise its original jurisdiction and then anoint Texas’s preferred candidate for President is legally indefensible and is an [affront] to principles of constitutional democracy,” Shapiro’s brief read. He further argued that Texas hasn’t suffered harm “simply because it dislikes the result of the election, and nothing in the text, history, or structure of the Constitution supports Texas’s view that it can dictate the manner in which four other states run their elections.”
Ref: https://www.theepochtimes.com/pennsylvania-house-leaders-file-brief-to-support-texas-in-supreme-court-lawsuit-against-pennsylvania_3613557.html
News (2)
States Urge Supreme Court to Reject Texas Supreme Court Lawsuit to Overturn Election
Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, in a brief filed with the U.S. Supreme Court, denounced a Texas lawsuit against the state’s procedures during the November 3 election. Minutes later, the attorneys general for Wisconsin, Georgia, and Michigan issued similar court filings.
Shapiro wrote that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s lawsuit—which disputes the elections in Michigan, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin—is merely an attempt “at disenfranchising large swaths of voters and undermining the legitimacy of the election.”
“Its request for this Court to exercise its original jurisdiction and then anoint Texas’s preferred candidate for President is legally indefensible and is an [affront] to principles of constitutional democracy,” the brief read. They further argued that Texas hasn’t suffered harm “simply because it dislikes the result of the election, and nothing in the text, history, or structure of the Constitution supports Texas’s view that it can dictate the manner in which four other states run their elections.”
The Supreme Court had ordered the states to respond by 3 pm on Thursday.
“Texas is unable to allege that Wisconsin itself did anything to directly injure Texas’s sovereign interests,” Wisconsin Attorney General Joshua Kaul argued. Georgia Attorney General Christopher Carr said that Paxton’s lawsuit “asks this court to transfer Georgia’s electoral powers to the federal judiciary.”
Nearly two-dozen other states filed an amicus brief that supports Shapiro’s claim to the high court. At least 17 Republican-led states threw their support behind Paxton’s lawsuit.
The case from Paxton was filed on Monday night, asserting the four battleground states made last-minute, unconstitutional changes to their respective election laws, treated voters unequally, and caused significant voting irregularities by relaxing ballot-integrity regulations.
Paxton, in a statement, said that “Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin destroyed that trust and compromised the security and integrity of the 2020 election.”
“The states violated statutes enacted by their duly elected legislatures, thereby violating the Constitution. By ignoring both state and federal law, these states have not only tainted the integrity of their own citizens’ vote, but of Texas and every other state that held lawful elections,” the Republican from Texas added. “Their failure to abide by the rule of law casts a dark shadow of doubt over the outcome of the entire election. We now ask that the Supreme Court step in to correct this egregious error.”
Other than seeking a remedy to determine the outcome of the November 3 presidential election, Paxton is asking the court to provide clarity to future ones.
“In addition to injunctive relief for this election, Plaintiff State seeks declaratory relief for all presidential elections in the future. This problem is clearly capable of repetition yet evading review,” the suit reads. “This Court’s attention is profoundly needed to declare what the law is and to restore public trust in this election.”
Meanwhile, the Texas lawsuit seeks to extend the Dec. 14 Electoral College certification deadline for Pennsylvania, Michigan, Georgia, and Wisconsin.
President Donald Trump, who stands to gain the most from the Texas lawsuit, wrote Thursday that the “Supreme Court has a chance to save our Country from the greatest Election abuse in the history of the United States.”
News (3)
6 States Ask Supreme Court to Join Texas Election Lawsuit
The states of Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Utah on December 10 asked the Supreme Court to let them intervene in an election lawsuit filed earlier in the week by the state of Texas.
In a brief motion to intervene filed on Thursday, the six states outlined the reasons they should be allowed to join the suit, arguing that their motion was timely, that they have an interest in the transaction in question, that their interests may be harmed by the disposition of the action and that they are not adequately represented in the action.
“The Intervening States do not doubt that Plaintiff State of Texas will vigorously and effectively litigate this case, but the Attorney General of each individual State is best situated to represent the interests of that State and its People,” the motion (pdf) states.
Texas sued the battleground states of Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin on Dec. 8, alleging that officials there conducted the 2020 general election in violation of the Constitution. The defendant states illegally altered election laws, causing a flood of mail-in votes without appropriate ballot integrity measures in place, Texas alleged. The resulting irregularities put the ultimate outcome of the election in doubt, the lawsuit argues.
“Trust in the integrity of our election processes is sacrosanct and binds our citizenry and the States in this Union together,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a statement. “Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin destroyed that trust and compromised the security and integrity of the 2020 election.”
“The states violated statutes enacted by their duly elected legislatures, thereby violating the Constitution. By ignoring both state and federal law, these states have not only tainted the integrity of their own citizens’ vote, but of Texas and every other state that held lawful elections. Their failure to abide by the rule of law casts a dark shadow of doubt over the outcome of the entire election. We now ask that the Supreme Court step in to correct this egregious error.”
The six states were part of the group of 18 Republican states that filed amicus briefs in support of Texas a day prior.
Six other Republican attorneys general—from Alaska, Idaho, Kentucky, New Hampshire, Ohio, and Wyoming—have not filed briefs in support of Texas or motions to join the case. The offices of these attorneys general did not respond to a request for comment.
Legacy media outlets declared former Vice President Joe Biden the winner in the four states, but President Donald Trump has not conceded the race and continues to pursue legal challenges in the four defendant states as well as in Arizona and Nevada. The Trump campaign filed a motion to join the Texas case on December 9.
The Supreme Court set a December 10, 3 pm deadline for the defendants to file their arguments against the court taking up the case.
The twelve states that also filed briefs in support of Texas are Alabama, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, and West Virginia.
Ref : https://www.theepochtimes.com/6-states-ask-supreme-court-to-join-texas-election-lawsuit_3613182.html
22 States and Territories File Brief in Opposition to Texas Supreme Court Election Lawsuit
Reporter : Ivan Pentchoukov / Publisher : The Epoch Times PREMIUM
The District of Columbia filed a legal brief on behalf of 22 blue states and territories on December 10 opposing a lawsuit request filed with the Supreme Court by the State of Texas, which challenges the election results in four battleground states.
The group represents all but one state with Democratic attorneys general not counting the four defendants: Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan, and Wisconsin.
“The people have chosen. But Texas, supported by 17 other states, asks this Court to overturn that choice,” the brief (pdf), signed by District of Columbia Solicitor General Loren Alikhan, states. “Amici States urge this Court to reject Texas’s last-minute attempt to throw out the results of an election decided by the people and securely overseen and certified by its sister states.”
Texas sued the battleground states of Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin on Dec. 8, alleging that officials there conducted the 2020 general election in violation of the Constitution. The defendant states illegally altered election laws, causing a flood of mail-in votes without appropriate ballot integrity measures in place, Texas alleged. The resulting irregularities put the ultimate outcome of the election in doubt, the lawsuit argues.
The Trump campaign and six states with Republican attorneys general filed motions to join Texas in the lawsuit. A group of 17 states with Republican attorneys general filed briefs in support of Texas on December 19.
Ohio Republican Attorney General Dave Yost, filed a brief “in support of neither party,” arguing against the relief sought by Texas. The office of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton did not respond to a request for comment on Yost’s filing.
Five other Republican attorneys general—from Alaska, Idaho, Kentucky, New Hampshire, and Wyoming—have not filed briefs in support of Texas or motions to join the case. The offices of the attorneys general for Idaho, Kentucky, New Hampshire, and Wyoming did not respond to requests for comment. The governor of Alaska said his attorney general did not have enough time to review the lawsuit before the deadline to join the case expired.
“I’ll be the first to admit that I was disappointed that we didn’t have enough time to thoroughly review the details. Had this not been the case, we may have come to a different decision,” Alaska Gov. Dunleavy said in a statement emailed to The Epoch Times. “My understanding is that the Supreme Court will make a quick decision prior to December 14. Depending on the outcome, Alaska will respond accordingly.”
The defendant states submitted four briefs in opposition to Texas around the 3 p.m. Thursday deadline set by the court.
“Texas seeks to invalidate elections in four states for yielding results with which it disagrees. Its request for this Court to exercise its original jurisdiction and then anoint Texas’ preferred candidate for President is legally indefensible and is an affront to principles of constitutional democracy,” the Pennsylvania brief (pdf) states.
News (5)
Trump: Supreme Court ‘Has a Chance to Save Our Country’
President Donald Trump asserted on Thursday that the nation’s highest court can save America, depending on what happens in the coming weeks.
“The Supreme Court has a chance to save our Country from the greatest Election abuse in the history of the United States,” the Republican wrote in a social media statement.
“78% of the people feel (know!) the Election was RIGGED,” he added.
Trump was referencing the major lawsuit brought by Texas this week to the Supreme Court.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan, and Wisconsin, arguing the states changed election laws in violation of the U.S. Constitution and that the relaxation of ballot rules led to irregularities.
Seventeen states in a filing urged the nation’s top court to take up the challenge.
Changes to mail-in ballot procedures “removed protections that responsible actors had recommended for decades to guard against fraud and abuse in voting by mail,” the states alleged in the brief.
Trump highlighted the filing, writing: “Wow! At least 17 States have joined Texas in the extraordinary case against the greatest Election Fraud in the history of the United States. Thank you!”
In separate motions, six states asked asked the Supreme Court to let them intervene in the lawsuit; Ohio argued against the relief sought by Texas; and 22 states filed a brief in opposition to the suit.
The battle lines are primarily inter-party, though Ohio’s attorney general is Republican.
Trump and fellow Republicans have alleged fraud and other irregularities led to the election being stolen from the president. Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has declared victory and Democrats have asserted the election was conducted smoothly with insignificant levels of fraud.
The Epoch Times is not calling the race at this time.
Biden’s team didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Leading up to November 3, Trump often said the Supreme Court would likely need to weigh in on election-related legal battles.
“I think this will end up in the Supreme Court,” he told reporters in September. That month, he defended filling the vacancy left by the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg because of the need for nine justices to hear election cases.
“We need nine justices. You need that. With the unsolicited millions of ballots that they’re sending—it’s a scam, it’s a hoax. Everybody knows that. And the Democrats know it better than anybody else,” Trump said.
Trump also told “Fox & Friends” around the same time that he would respect the election results if the Supreme Court ruled that Biden won.
Trump ended up nominating Amy Coney Barrett to the seat Ginsburg left. Barrett was confirmed by the Senate, giving Trump three appointees on the court and making the number of Republican-appointed judges six.
Amid the fracas triggered by the Texas case, Trump met with attorneys general at the White House on Thursday. A list of attendees was not released and the president did not have a scheduled press conference.
Ivan Pentchoukov and Jack Phillips contributed to this report.
Ref : https://www.theepochtimes.com/trump-supreme-court-has-a-chance-to-save-our-country_3613479.html
No comments:
Post a Comment