Cornyn derides Cruz’s call for ‘audit’
WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. John Cornyn took a shot at his fellow Texas senator Tuesday over Ted Cruz’s call for an “emergency audit” of the presidential election results, drawing attacks from President Donald Trump in the process.
Without calling out Cruz by name in a lengthy letter sent to Texans, Cornyn wrote that such a vote “not to certify the electoral votes of a state based on an emergency audit that is designed to fail is not a vote on the merits.”
“It is not a vote based on evidence,” he wrote.
Cruz has said he plans to object to the results, unless they are audited, pointing to “unprecedented” allegations of widespread voter fraud.
“That’s produced a deep, deep distrust of our democratic process across the country,” Cruz said in a
“It is not a vote based on evidence.”
Sen. John Cornyn, on GOP senators who plan to vote against certifying the electoral votes
recent interview on Fox News. “I think we in Congress have an obligation to do something about that.”
Cruz has the backing of 10 Republican senators, along with a slew of Texas GOP congressmen, who plan to object as Congress meets in a joint session to certify the results on Wednesday. Their objections won’t change the outcome of the election, as Congress has more than enough votes to certify the results.
The move comes as Trump has refused to concede the election after dozens of court losses and multiple recounts in contested states, an unprecedented move for a sitting president.
In a tweet Tuesday evening, Trump called Cornyn and the top two Senate Republicans, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, “the weak and ineffective RINO section of the Republican Party.”
Trump said he hopes the senators “are looking at the thousands of people pouring into D.C. They won’t stand for a landslide election victory to be stolen.”
Cornyn, a former Texas Supreme Court justice, noted that Trump’s attorneys have failed to
prove fraud allegations in dozens of losing court battles since the election. Unless “substantial, new evidence is presented” to Congress, Cornyn said he won’t be joining Cruz in objecting to the results “based on unproven allegations.”
“Over these past two months, I have paid close attention to the legal challenges and recounts that have taken place across the country,” he wrote. “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.”
Cruz’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Cornyn’s letter.
Cruz, however, responded to criticism he has received from some of his other GOP colleagues during an interview with conservative radio host Mark Levin on Monday, accusing some of them of “huffing and puffing and suggesting how dare you.”
“I think there are some conservatives who in good conscience believe that Congress’ discretion is limited,” Cruz said.
“I think there are also some Republicans in both houses who are not conservatives, but who are piously and self righteously preening, who are moralizing,” Cruz said.