'Stay Out Of Pennsylvania': State Attorney General Josh Shapiro Calls Texas Election Lawsuit A Threat To Democracy
UPDATE (7 p.m.) -- The Supreme Court has rejected Texas' bid to overturn election results in four states, including Pennsylvania.
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- In a court filing with the U.S. Supreme Court, Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro has responded to Texas' attorney general, who wants to throw out the election results in the Commonwealth and three other swing states.
Shapiro calls the Texas lawsuit a threat to American democracy. In an interview with KDKA political editor Jon Delano, Shapiro had a message for Texas.
"Mind your own business and stay out of Pennsylvania," Shapiro said.
In a 33-page filing with the Supreme Court, Shapiro accused Texas of trying to overturn the presidential election.
"They have gone to the Supreme Court of the United States to say that they don't like the results of the vote in a whole separate state and we, Texas, want you to invalidate the votes of the people of Pennsylvania, Georgia, Wisconsin and Michigan. That's ridiculous," said Shapiro.
Shapiro says the Texas attorney general has dredged up old conspiracy theories that are untrue and were rejected by state and federal courts.
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"It would truly be the end of our democracy if the Court were to rule in their favor. We would never be able to have a representative democracy again," Shapiro said. "Elections wouldn't mean anything if one state could invalidate the votes of another."
But local Republican congressmen like U.S. Reps. Mike Kelly and Guy Reschenthaler say this state's election was flawed.
KDKA's Jon Delano: Do you think Texas should have any role at all in deciding how we conduct elections in Pennsylvania?
Reschenthaler: I'm actually part of that lawsuit. I'm filing an amicus brief to that lawsuit, and here's why I am doing that. We've got to have states following the U.S. Constitution when it comes to election law.
Shapiro says siding with Texas against Pennsylvania makes no sense.
"It's insane," Shapiro said about the action of 126 Republican members of Congress who support the Texas lawsuit.
"Think about this for a second. They signed onto a brief saying the election that delivered them victories and returned them to the House of Representatives for another term was somehow unfair or unjust or unlawful. I have no idea what's going on in their heads," added Shapiro.
Of course, what's going on is politics, as President Donald Trump tries every way he can to stay in office.
