President Trump said early Saturday the Supreme Court let America down by not hearing an election challenge brought by Texas against four battleground states, and he vowed to “fight on.”
“The Supreme Court really let us down. No Wisdom, No Courage!” the president tweeted hours after the high court announced it would not consider the case. “It is a legal disgrace, an embarrassment to the USA!!!”
The president criticized the justices for rejecting what he called a well-reasoned complaint, without weighing the legal arguments.
“So, you’re the President of the United States, and you just went through an election where you got more votes than any sitting President in history, by far - and purportedly lost,” the president tweeted. “You can’t get ’standing’ before the Supreme Court, so you ’intervene’ with wonderful states that, after careful study and consideration, think you got ’screwed’, something which will hurt them also. Many others likewise join the suit but, within a flash, it is thrown out and gone, without even looking at the many reasons it was brought. A Rigged Election, fight on!”
The justices on Friday night rejected the Texas case, which argued Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Georgia, and Michigan officials altered their state election laws without approval from state legislatures.
Texas argued that the constitution permits the justices to settle disputes between states. The Lone Star State said the other states’ conduct diluted Texas’ 38 electoral votes for Mr. Trump.
The four battleground states, though, had urged the court not to hear the case, charging it was not grounded in law or facts. They said the state of Texas didn’t suffer an injury sufficient for bringing the court action.
The justices agreed, dismissing it for lack of standing under Article III of the Constitution.
“There’s no way to say it other than they dodged,” White House spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany said of the justices on Fox News. “They dodged, they hid behind procedure, and they refused to use their authority to enforce the constitution.”
Trump lawyer Rudolph W. Giuliani said he’ll pursue the election challenge in lower federal courts or state courts, where the campaign already has lost numerous cases.
Presumptive President-elect Joseph R. Biden won the four swing states, flipping them blue after Mr. Trump had carried them in 2016.
A Biden spokesman said it was “no surprise” that the Supreme Court rejected “baseless attempts” to deny that Mr. Trump lost the election.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, a Democrat, said the decision was “an important reminder that we are a nation of laws, and though some may bend to the desire of a single individual, the courts will not.”
The Court’s decision paves the way for the Electoral College’s meeting on Monday, when it is expected to formally cast its votes and make Mr. Biden’s victory official. Mr. Biden has 306 electoral votes to Mr. Trump’s 232.
The four states in question in Texas’ lawsuit contributed a combined 62 votes to Mr. Biden’s total. To win the White House, 270 votes are needed.
At least 16 other red states had supported Texas’ lawsuit.
The president urged the high court publicly several times on Friday to rule in his favor.
“If the Supreme Court shows great Wisdom and Courage, the American People will win perhaps the most important case in history, and our Electoral Process will be respected again!” Mr. Trump had tweeted.
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
• Alex Swoyer can be reached at aswoyer@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.