Jacob Ogles
Nine Florida Congressmen initially joined an amicus brief supporting a Texas lawsuit seeking to overturn four state’s election results. Before the Supreme Court declined to hear the case, two more Florida Representatives signed on as well.
Rep. Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, emailed every Republican member of Congress looking for support for such a brief, filed directly to the U.S. Supreme Court by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
He ultimately won over 106 members of the House, all of whom are listed on a brief filed with the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday. The Hill’s Supreme Court reporter, John Kruzel, tweeted an image of the original list of signatories.
That list includes nine members of Florida’s Congressional Delegation, including Reps. Gus Bilirakis, Mario Diaz-Balart, Neal Dunn, Matt Gaetz, John Rutherford, Ross Spano, Michael Waltz, Dan Webster and Ted Yoho. Later, Reps. Bill Posey and Greg Steube signed on to the brief as well, at the same time House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California added his name.
That’s a majority of the 14 Republicans representing Florida in the House.
“President Trump called me this morning to let me know how much he appreciates the amicus brief we are filing on behalf of Members of Congress,” Johnson tweeted. “Indeed, ‘this is the big one!'”
Webster released a statement suggesting it’s appropriate for election disputes to go the Supreme Court, as occurred when Democrat Al Gore pushed for further recounts of Florida’s election result in 2000. Webster served in the Florida Senate at the time.
“We are a nation of laws and order. We must ensure a constitutionally approved process was conducted and all valid claims are properly addressed,” Webster said. “As I said last month, President Trump has the right to take legal action and request recounts to ensure every and only legally cast ballots are counted. Twenty years ago, the news media projected the wrong winner in Florida, and it was about a month before official results of the 2000 Presidential Election were known. Free and fair elections are the bedrock of our republic and it is always right to fight to uphold the constitution when a serious question arises.”
The amicus brief came a day after Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody joined an amicus brief with other Republican Attorneys General in support of Paxton’s lawsuit.
Waltz praised the move at the time on Twitter. “Free and fair elections are the foundation of our Republic. We must fight to protect their integrity. Right move by Attorney General Ashley Moody in urging the Supreme Court to consider Texas’s motion to ensure the 2020 election was fairly reviewed and decided.”
The Paxton suit itself relies on many accusations of voter fraud that have been dismissed in court or publicly debunked. Attorneys for Trump have declined to present evidence in previous federal court cases.
Meanwhile, Trump has voiced support for a special counsel into election fraud around the 2020 election. “Great. Most corrupt Election in history, by far. We won!!!” Trump tweeted on Thursday.
But U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr has made clear the Justice Department has not uncovered evidence of widespread voter fraud that would change the outcome of the election.
All states earlier this week submitted official election results, which collectively show Democrat Joe Biden won the election with 306 electoral votes. It takes 270 to win.
The Paxton lawsuit seeks to nullify election results in Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Those states collectively represent 62 electoral votes, which would bring Biden’s total down to 244. That’s still more than the 232 won by Trump, but without a majority, the decision on who won the election would go to Congress, where state congressional delegations would determine the outcome.
Trump won in Florida with 51.2% of the vote.
21 comments
S B ANTHONY
December 10, 2020 at 5:19 pm
Spineless treasonous cowards, each and every one of them. Grown men in fear
of a bully who tweets. Beyond pathetic. All. Of. Them. And the ones who
are lawyers should be disbarred for publicly supporting an attempted coup of
our democracy. They should all be ashamed and we’ll remember all of their names.
Palmer Tom
December 10, 2020 at 9:45 pm
Most of these guys are political hacks. The ones who aren’t probably figure they have nothing to lose by joining this quixotic scheme because they’re in safe districts or like Spano, are on their way out anyway.
Victor Aparicio
December 10, 2020 at 10:16 pm
Those republican congressmen scumbags are nothing but criminal traitors who deserve to be locked up in prison for the rest of their pathetic lives. Or better yet, execute them. The world will be a better place without those pieces of shite.
DisplacedCTYankee
December 11, 2020 at 4:44 am
My Rep Vern Buchanan is not on the list! I simply do not know what to make of this. Maybe he was too busy with his next animal-rights bill?
Sonja Fitch
December 11, 2020 at 7:28 am
Ok. Get on the phones Twitter and other method, like visit offices and make damn sure these cowards know that they are IGNORING the damn needs of the People! Rutherford et al you are now covered in the blood and deaths of over 300000 Americans! Every act of bs THEY do is because that are brainwashed and braindead as members of the goptrump death Cult! Vote Warnock and Ossoff!
Dee Sheklin
December 11, 2020 at 9:45 am
It is pathetic that elected officials are seeking to overturn the will of the voters. This is unprecedented and flies in the face of our democratic principals. They should be sanctioned for not upholding the principals they were elected to protect, the sanctity of the vote and the rights of the electorate to choose their leaders.
Wallace Gause
December 11, 2020 at 10:04 am
Not surprised that Mark Putz and Little Marco are, once again, leading the Shame Gang. Sorry Florida.
john d king
December 11, 2020 at 10:12 am
I don’t know the others, but I DO KNOW MATT GAETZ. Gaetz is a joke and a Chump sychophant. Sadly, I live in the district he represents … badly, I mignt add. He would agree to sedition IF Chump asked him to do it, which is about which this amicus brief does. They all should be ashamed, but, sadly, they could care less about the Rule of Law, or the Constitution .. which they swore to uphold and defend. LIARS all.
Judy Sheklin
December 11, 2020 at 10:22 am
Members of Congress seeking to overturn the results of this election and undermine the will of the voters are not upholding the laws of our nation. Our democracy is threatened by these actions. There should be sanctions for those elected officials who seek to undermine the decisions we as Americans hold to be sacred, that we can elect our leaders and not be subject to threats, intimidation and refusal to accept the results of a fair election.
B.S.
December 11, 2020 at 10:42 am
Anti-democratic, Nazi filth; that is the modern Reputincan Party. Absolute traitors to the Constitution and America. I will spend every dime I have and every free minute to vote out these disgusting RepubliNazis.
Booner
December 11, 2020 at 3:58 pm
Sedition is the incitement of public disorder or rebellion against a government. It includes any action, especially in speech or writing, promoting such disorder or rebellion against the United States government.
As I’ve noted elsewhere, the suggestion of disenfranchising millions of voters on unproven allegations of fraud for which no hard evidence has been provided in dozens of failed lawsuits by a cabal of congressional monkeys is purely a political ploy to curry favor with cult-brainwashed constituents and their Cult Mob Leader Trump.
If the Trump Cult members get the go ahead, their next step will be to encourage the assassination of governmental officials on a national scale by weapon toting right wing anti-government extremists using guerrila war tactics. An extensive list of targets has already been posted on Parler and other media openly encouraging sedition by watering the tree of Justice with blood of their enemies.
These seditious GOP congressional rebels who encourage the Supreme Court to adjudicate the election results by force of mob threat are nothing but common rabble rousers who will have blood on their hands should the itchy trigger fingers get out of hand.
Robbie
December 11, 2020 at 4:26 pm
I wonder if any of these participants (from each state) would agree to have their votes thrown out from the states in question. If there is actually fraud, the down ballot votes would be fraudulent as well?!?
Daniel Henry Delaney jr
December 11, 2020 at 5:22 pm
These are not true Americans. They are simply trump-lickers. I am new to this potentially GREAT STATE. With these scumbags in Congress. I’m not sure if I will fit in.
Carole Drost Lopez
December 11, 2020 at 5:58 pm
I want these characters to know I would never vote for them .
With so many people impacted by the Covid virus , and the need for government to help the unemployed , that they have their energy spent on such an anti democratic move is discouraging and disgusting.
michele
December 11, 2020 at 7:54 pm
They need to be made to resign for violating their oath of office this is clearly against the constitution of the United States. A clear attempt to over throw the government.
Bonnie
December 11, 2020 at 8:41 pm
Update with Greg Stube as a co-signer!
Pedro
December 12, 2020 at 5:09 am
As a Cuban American, I am particularly embarrassed by Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart signing on to this outrageous lawsuit that shamefully sought to overturn the will of the voters. Congressman, like you, I am all for democracy in Communist Cuba but unlike you, I am first and foremost for democracy in the United States, the country that gave me refuge from Communism, the nation I live in, and that I am a proud citizen of.
jon
December 13, 2020 at 3:28 am
God bless the righteous! Republicans are no longer going to take the path of least resistance! We will not democrats destroy America!
Andrew Katsaris
December 13, 2020 at 3:53 am
You misspelled riotous.
The republicans stand only for money, greed, and power. Now we can add sedition to the list. And treason.
Seriously, what did these representatives really expect would happen? That the Supreme Court would be amicable to overturning the votes of millions of Americans across multiple states? Would that ruling have applied only to the presidential tallies but not to the elections republicans in the same states won? The entire thought process behind this filing was flawed from the start.
This was just a pathetic attempt at a coup.
Craig Breighner
December 13, 2020 at 8:00 am
Anyone who signed the amicus brief needs to resign from Congress or any other public office(s) he or she might hold, for he or she is an enemy of our democratic republic and a would-be destroyer of the “American” way of life and governance. I have long believed that Donald J. Trump is a Traitor and these reprobates have shown themselves to be cut from the same seditious cloth!
Kevin O'Neill
December 13, 2020 at 10:14 am
Suits are dismissed or lost for neumerous reasons, and doing so does not deem related facts about eye witnesses or other evidence of voter fraud, to be false. Biden’s vote get beat Obama. Really?
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