The US Supreme court on Friday, December 11, 2020, dismissed the bid by the State of Texas to overturn the result of the Presidential election which was won by the Democratic candidate, Joe Biden, according to Bloomberg.
This new setback appears to be the final blow in the effort by President Donald Trump to hang on to power, thereby obstructing the path of Joe Biden being inaugurated as the 46th President of the US.
In a judgement to the lawsuit which was filed on Tuesday against 4 states namely, Georgia, Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, the judges in an effectively unanimous order late Friday, barred Texas from filing suit directly at the high court to challenge Joe Biden’s victories in those states. The order ensures those states can cast their votes for Biden in the Electoral College on Monday.
The court said, “Texas has not demonstrated a judicially cognizable interest in the manner in which another state conducts its elections.”
None of the 9 Supreme court justices including the 3 appointed by Donald Trump, publicly dissented from that conclusion or said he or she would block the states from casting their votes. Trump’s three Supreme Court appointees — Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett, gave no suggestion they disagreed with the unsigned order.
What they are saying
Before the ruling on Friday, Trump had called on the nation’s supreme court to show great Wisdom and Courage. However, in a late-night tweet after the court’s decision he wrote, “The Supreme Court really let us down. No Wisdom, No Courage!”
He followed with another tweet calling the lack of legal relief an embarrassment to the USA.
- Michigan’s attorney general, Dana Nessel tweeted that the court’s decision is an important reminder that the US is a nation of laws and that though some may bend to the desire of a single individual, the courts will not.
- Also, Michael Gwin, a spokesman for the Biden campaign, said in a statement that the court “Decisively and speedily rejected the latest of Donald Trump and his allies’ attacks on the democratic process.”
- While appearing on Fox News Friday night, White House Press Secretary, Kayleigh McEnany, made efforts to describe the court’s dismissal of the lawsuit as a procedural move.
- McEnany said, “There’s no way to say it other than they dodged. They hid behind the procedure, and they refused to use their authority to enforce the Constitution.”
What you should know
- President Donald Trump has refused to acknowledge the victory of the Democratic candidate, Joe Biden, in the November 3 presidential election, describing the election as riddled with fraud and rigging without any evidence.
- He had spent months before the election, trying to shake the nation’s faith in the integrity of its voting systems and had repeatedly predicted that the election would be rigged because of the expanded use of mail-in ballots.
- Trump and his allies have filed dozens of lawsuits in several key states and has had almost all of them thrown out by the courts. Members of the Trump administration, including Attorney General William Barr, have said they haven’t found any instances of widespread fraud.
What this means: The Supreme court’s decision puts an end to Trump’s expectation of vindication at the Supreme Court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority due to his appointments. Barrett’s nomination was rushed through the Senate confirmation process, with Trump saying her vote would be needed to resolve any election disputes.
