佛罗里达最大的报纸之一收回它的认可一名共和党国会议员在得知他签署了一份法庭之友摘要后最高法院试图推翻总统选举选举。
奥兰多哨兵报支持佛罗里达州众议员迈克尔·瓦尔兹回到十月,但在周五的论坛版上撤销了对这位国会议员的支持,并向读者道歉。
彭博通过盖蒂图像,文件
众议员迈克尔·瓦尔兹在美国总统唐纳德·特朗普抵达前向人群发表讲话
“我们当时不知道,也无法知道,华尔兹并没有致力于民主,”评论写道。“在我们对现任国会议员的采访中,我们没有想到要问,‘你会支持一项努力,在四个州扔掉数千万美国人的选票,以推翻总统选举,并把它交给失败者,唐纳德·特朗普?"
这篇社论发表之前,该报获悉瓦尔兹支持由德克萨斯州牵头、唐纳德·特朗普(Donald Trump)总统的共和党盟友支持的友好简报。这一诉讼试图在四个州丢掉数百万张选票推翻民主党人乔·拜登的胜利在2020年的总统选举中被否决。法院驳回了诉讼,理由是缺乏宪法第三条规定的地位。
总统的盟友,包括带头提起诉讼的德克萨斯州司法部长肯·帕克斯顿,声称四个战场州宾夕法尼亚州、密歇根州、威斯康星州和佐治亚州“利用新冠肺炎大流行”不正当地放松选举规则,扭曲竞选结果。
CQ-通过盖蒂图像,文件点名
2020年9月30日,众议员迈克尔·华尔兹在华盛顿国会大厦参加新闻发布会。
这一决定是在选举团开会并最终确定总统选举的前几天做出的,实际上结束了总统所说的“也许是历史上最重要的案件”。
众议员瓦尔兹和他在17个州的120多名共和党同事一起支持法庭之友简报。在一次采访中代托纳海滩新闻-期刊瓦尔兹列举了支持该诉讼的几个理由,称关于该诉讼的指控,“有一些真实的内容。”
“他们想废除231年的选举传统和规范,这样他们的人唐纳德·特朗普就可以再执政四年,”该报在其意见中写道,严厉批评了这一诉讼。
代托纳海滩新闻-今日美国网络杂志,文件
众议员迈克尔·瓦尔兹听一位女士说,2020年是她第一次投票,她说
除了瓦尔兹和许多其他州和国家候选人,奥兰多哨兵报还支持拜登竞选总统。拜登是当选总统,他已经获得了足够的选民,赢得了12月14日的选举团投票
“每个美国人都应该对企图篡夺感到震惊,对当选官员参与这一可怕的惨败并违反他们保护国家免受国内外敌人伤害的誓言感到震惊,”论坛版继续说道。“每个支持迈克尔·华尔兹竞选国会议员的人都应该感到深深的悔恨和遗憾。我们有。”
Florida newspaper issues retraction of its endorsement of political candidate
One of Florida's largest newspapers hasretracted its endorsementof a Republican congressman after learning that he had cosigned an amicus brief shipped to theSupreme Courtin a bid to overturn the presidentialelection.
The Orlando Sentinel had endorsed Florida Rep. Michael Waltzback in October,but rescinded its endorsement of the congressman in an op-ed Friday and apologized to its readers.
"We had no idea, had no way of knowing at the time, that Waltz was not committed to democracy," read the op-ed. "During our endorsement interview with the incumbent congressman, we didn't think to ask, 'Would you support an effort to throw out the votes of tens of millions of Americans in four states in order to overturn a presidential election and hand it to the person who lost,Donald Trump?'"
The editorial comes after the paper learned of Waltz's support of an amicus brief spearheaded by the state of Texas and propped up by Republican allies of President Donald Trump. The suit -- which sought to throw out millions of votes in four states andoverturn Democrat Joe Biden's victoryin the 2020 presidential election --- was denied by the Supreme Court on Friday. The court rejected the lawsuit citing a lack of standing under Article III of the Constitution.
The president's allies, including Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton who took the lead in filing the lawsuit,alleged that four battleground states, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and Georgia "exploited the COVID-19 pandemic" to improperly loosen election rules and skew the contest's outcome.
The decision came just days before the electoral college is set to meet and finalize the presidential selection, and effectively shut down what the president had called "perhaps the most important case in history."
Rep. Waltz joined more than 120 of his Republican colleagues across 17 states in support of the amicus brief. In an interview with theDaytona Beach News-Journal, Waltz cited several reasons for supporting the lawsuit, saying about the lawuit's allegations, "There is some real substance."
"They wanted to undo 231 years of election tradition and norms so their guy, Donald Trump, can have another four years in office," the paper wrote in its opinion, excoriating the suit.
In addition to Waltz and a raft of other state and national candidates, the Orlando Sentinel also endorsed Biden for president. Biden is the president-elect, having secured enough electors to win the Electoral College vote on Dec. 14
"Every American should be appalled at the attempted usurpation, and at elected officials taking part in this terrifying fiasco and violating their oath to protect the country from enemies, foreignanddomestic," the op-ed continued. "Everyone who supported Michael Waltz for Congress should feel a deep sense of remorse and regret. We do."