Ted Cruz blasted for agreeing to argue Texas lawsuit to overturn the presidential election

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz came under political fire Thursday for agreeing to represent President Donald Trump in the Texas-led effort to overturn President-elect Joe Biden’s victory, should the Supreme Court hear it.

The suit, filed at the Supreme Court by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, seeks to nullify votes in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan and Wisconsin because they “exploited the COVID-19 pandemic to justify unlawfully enacting last-minute changes” that skewed the votes of the presidential election, according to Paxton’s office.

Biden won the election with 7 million more votes than Trump and an electoral margin of 306-232, which mirrors the electoral count Trump won in the 2016 vote.

Trump personally asked Cruz, who has argued nine cases before the Supreme Court (most of them as Texas’ solicitor general), to represent him in the election lawsuit, according to The New York Times.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, called the Texas Republican a “sad sack” for agreeing to argue the case in an interview on CNN.

“He has proven himself to be neither a genius in the law or a genius, frankly in terms of an EQ,” Shapiro said. “... If you continue to hold yourself out as a legal expert yet demonstrate day in and day out with the support of this president and his claims that you don’t know anything about the law, either the process or the facts that go into a winning lawsuit.”

Cruz has had a historically tempestuous relationship with Trump, who Cruz called a “pathological liar” and “utterly amoral” in 2016. Trump called Cruz “Lyin’ Ted,” insulted his wife and said his father was involved in the conspiracy to assassinate John F. Kennedy.

Despite their rocky relationship, Cruz has grown to be one of Trump’s greatest allies. During Trump’s impeachment, Cruz used his legal prowess to be an effective defender, picking apart House Democrats’ allegations with skill and attention to detail. Now, he is ready to argue the president’s case in the Supreme Court.

CNN’s John Harwood called out the Texas Republican for agreeing to argue the suit for his political ambitions, even though he knows it is not going to succeed. Harwood mocked the case’s “clownish argument” and said Cruz will represent Trump “for the purpose of his ambition.”

Cruz tweeted Monday that he “will stand ready” to present the oral argument of a Pennsylvania case at the Supreme Court, but the court declined to hear the case Tuesday.

“As I said last week, the bitter division and acrimony we see across the Nation needs resolution,” Cruz said in a tweet. “I believe #SCOTUS has a responsibility to the American People to ensure, within its powers, that we are following the law and following the Constitution.”

The Texas lawsuit has been scrutinized by legal critics and lawmakers alike. Sen. John Cornyn, the senior senator from Texas, said he was “skeptical” of the lawsuit’s success on a call with Texas reporters Thursday and called the implications of the case “frightening.”

Cornyn said he didn’t “begrudge” the president for wanting his case to be heard, and he lauded his fellow Texan’s legal experience.

“I can’t think of a better advocate than Senator Cruz,” Cornyn said. “As you know he’s got great experience arguing cases before the Supreme Court of the United States as a former Solicitor General of Texas. And that’s just on top of his private sector career after he clerked for William Rehnquist on the Supreme Court.”