Trump questioned Tuesday whether Cruz would argue the case, which was filed Monday night by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in an attempt to block election results from Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, all of which were led by President-elect Joe Biden. . . According to the spokesman, Cruz agreed to do so.
A source familiar with the conversation said Trump has asked Cruz to argue over such election challenges.
The New York Times first reported on Trump’s request and Cruz’s response. The White House declined to comment.
News of Cruz’s possible involvement came after Trump’s involvement in Paxton’s case on Wednesday, prompting the Supreme Court to ask the filing court to block millions of votes from four states. The president is represented by a new attorney, John Eastman, recently known for pushing a racist conspiracy theory, claiming that Vice President-elect Kamala Harris did not qualify for the role because her parents were immigrants.
In the challenge, Paxton argues that the battlefield states exploited the Covid-19 epidemic to justify ignoring federal and state election laws. Seventeen Republican-led states also briefly filed to support Paxton’s position.
Some members of Congress have now backed the Trump administration and the Republican Party’s effort to reverse the 2020 election results in court.
CNN reported Wednesday that Trump’s ally Louisiana Rap. Mike Johnson sent an email from a personal email account for each House Republican signature in Amicus Brief in the Texas case. The email said Trump is “anxiously awaiting the final list” to see who signs it.
Attorney General William Barre said earlier this month that the Justice Department has found no evidence to support allegations of widespread fraud that could alter the outcome of last month’s presidential election.
Cruz, who has argued nine cases before the Supreme Court,
Tweeted on Monday In a Pennsylvania Republican case, the court was asked to block the certification of Commonwealth election results saying it was “ready to present an oral argument.”
On Tuesday, the court denied petitioners’ request to hear the Pennsylvania case, dealing a fatal blow to the GOP’s long-term bid to invalidate Bipen’s victory.
CNN’s Ariana de Vogue, Jack Tapper, Kristin Wilson and Daniel Diaz contributed to this report.
