U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) has written a detailed letter explaining why he opposed attempts to delay the certification of the presidential election results in favor of President-elect Joe Biden.
Cornyn penned the letter prior to the scenes in Washington on Wednesday when a violent mob, fresh from a rally addressed by President Trump, stormed the U.S. Capitol. Four people have died, including one Trump supporter.
Members of Congress certified the results early on Thursday morning. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) led objections to certification of the result in Arizona.
In his letter, Cornyn said he believed the president and his campaign were entitled to pursue legal challenges, but that none of the arguments or evidence persuaded 50 state and federal courts.
"When media outlets called the election for Joe Biden, I said that recounts and legal challenges needed to play out before a winner could be determined," Cornyn said. "I felt strongly that the president and his campaign were entitled to pursue their legal remedies, and that’s precisely what was done. But none of the legal arguments or evidence presented by the president’s legal team convinced the more than 50 state and federal courts that sat in judgment.”
Cornyn expressed his support for Trump and said he was honored to receive the president's support ahead of the senator's re-election in November.
In response to Cornyn's position, as well as those of Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Majority Whip John Thune of South Dakota, Trump tweeted: "I hope the Democrats, and even more importantly, the weak and ineffective RINO section of the Republican Party, are looking at the thousands of people pouring into D.C. They won’t stand for a landslide election victory to be stolen."
RINO is an acronym standing for "Republicans in name only."
“As a former judge, I view this process with the same impartial, evidence-based decision-making as I did my job on the bench," Cornyn wrote. "As mentioned, every lawsuit filed by the Trump campaign has failed to change the outcome. And multiple states have conducted recounts to confirm the results – in Georgia, three times. Unless substantial, new evidence is presented during the challenges to each state’s ballots, I will not object to the certification of that state’s election results based on unproven allegations.”
Cruz told a radio station that he wanted the certification delayed so that a 10-day audit of election results could be completed ahead of Biden inauguration.
"As to timing and practicality of an emergency audit, I am much more dubious," Cornyn said. "The design of the proposed commission to conduct such an 'audit' will inevitably fail."
Cornyn suggested an independent commission could be appointed following the inauguration similar to one that looked into the 2000 and 2004 elections.
