On Wednesday, Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich filed a motion with the U.S. Supreme Court requesting permission to file an amicus brief in the matter of Texas v. Pennsylvania, et al. The request bolstered the hopes of conservatives, amused learned attorneys, and allowed Secretary of State Katie Hobbs to play the victim again.
AZ’s election officials put on a safe & secure election. Since then, we’ve defended it from 8 baseless lawsuits seeking to overturn the voters’ will. It’s truly sad that AG Brnovich has chosen to add AZ’s name to an attempt to disenfranchise millions of voters in other states. https://t.co/DvuLpLOLIO
— Secretary Katie Hobbs (@SecretaryHobbs) December 10, 2020
Unlike Nevertrumper think tank attorneys, who are outright calling the Texas case meritless on standing grounds, at least Brnovich steers clear of any issues in his request
In typical Brnovich fashion he says nothing, but everything if you recognize the dog whistles:
The constitutional standing of Texas is clear – the right to select electors is a state’s right. The constitutional rules require legislatures to exercise that right. When those rules are broken by another state, in a manner that is intended and sufficient to change the outcome of the electoral college vote, the elector selection rights of Texas and all law-abiding states are nullified or diluted. This is precisely the same sort of injury that generates standing for voters who are victims of election law violations.
Texas’ injury is properly redressed by the Supreme Court notwithstanding the inaction of the swing state legislatures. Acquiescence by the delegate of constitutional power in a usurpation of constitutional power does not insulate the usurpation from judicial review. If it did, the Constitution could be violated with impunity so long as the delegate of constitutional power conspired with or yielded to the usurper. The judiciary properly rejects this principle in reviewing any such usurpation because the guarantees of the Constitution extend beyond those violating it-they extend to all states and the people.
Brnovich will likely agree, and then call on the justices to hand the election over to Vice President Biden in an effort to make the whole thing — and Arizona’s multiple failures in this election cycle, go away.
It will be interesting to see if he shows up on FOX News this week to say nothing about nothing or to say something that will earn him more favorable FOX coverage as we head into 2021. Favorable coverage is key for a guy who wants to run for governor, but has done nothing to distinguish himself.