WASHINGTON — On Thursday, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced that he has gained the backing of several other states in his lawsuit challenging the validity of the 2020 election.
Paxton said Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina and Utah have formally joined in on his Supreme Court suit against the states of Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
He claimed the four battleground states ran illegal and unconstitutional elections, exploiting the pandemic to justify unlawful changes that ignored federal and state election laws, though no evidence has yet been presented to prove these allegations.
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"Texas continues to lead the fight to protect election security and integrity, and today I gladly welcome Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina and Utah to this historic endeavor," Paxton said. "By flouting state and federal election laws, the defendant battleground states have tainted the integrity of citizens’ votes across the entire nation. To restore trust in the integrity of our election process, we must tirelessly defend its security and hold accountable those who discarded our Constitution for their own convenience. Texas is proud to have these states by its side in shining the bright light of justice."
Paxton filed his original lawsuit in the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday, arguing that it must require the four defendant states to conduct their elections constitutionally and in line with federal and state laws.
On Wednesday, President Donald Trump said he would be joining in as well. The Houston Chronicle reported Trump and Paxton would be meeting in Washington on Thursday.
According to the New York Times, President Trump also asked Sen. Ted Cruz to argue for the case.
US Rep. Chip Roy, who represents parts of Austin, San Antonio and the Hill Country, took to Twitter to explain why he said he is not taking part in Paxton's lawsuit.
"Respectfully, I will not join because I believe the case itself represents a dangerous violation of federalism & sets a precedent to have one state asking federal courts to police the voting procedures of other states," he tweeted. "I strongly support the continued pursuit of litigation where most likely to succeed - such as Georgia - to bring to light any illegal votes & encourage, if necessary, state legislatures to alter their electors accordingly. But, 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."
In November, the FBI announced it would be investigating the indicted attorney general after several of his former staff members alleged possible crimes against their boss, such as bribery and abuse of office, linked to his dealings with Austin-based real estate investor Nate Paul.
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