GOP Sen. Ben Sasse calls Texas AG's election lawsuit 'a PR stunt'

Sen. Ben Sasse.
(Image credit: Patrick Semansky/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) isn't buying Texas Attorney Gen. Ken Paxton's (R) claim that his lawsuit asking the Supreme Court to overturn the presidential election results in four states is due to concerns about the integrity of the vote.

It's a "PR stunt rather than a lawsuit," Sasse told The Washington Examiner on Thursday and an attempt to gain "a pardon" from President Trump.

The Associated Press reported in November that after several of Paxton's former aides accused him of bribery and other crimes, the FBI launched an investigation into whether Paxton illegally used his office to help friend and campaign donor Nate Paul, a wealthy real estate developer.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

In the lawsuit filed Tuesday, Paxton claims Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin "tainted the integrity" of the election through the use of mail-in ballots, and their results should be overturned, a move that would reverse President-elect Joe Biden's win.

Sasse told the Examiner he predicts the Supreme Court "swats this away," adding that the lawsuit's assertions "have already been rejected by federal courts and Texas' own solicitor general isn't signing on."

Lawyer Ryan Goodman, a former special counsel with the Department of Defense, agreed with Sasse's assessment, saying it not only appears as though Paxton is begging for a pardon, but "it also looks like potential bribery."

To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.