Ted Cruz, Republican Senator of Texas, may be the sharpest man in Congress. That’s why he’s not doing this on the merits of the case. He and some of the others are doing this to protect their Trump supporter flank in future Republican primaries. The certification challenge also has no hope of passing both houses of Congress. That being said…

.@Newsmax: Cruz Set to Lead Group of GOP Senators in Opposing Certification https://t.co/9f5j9Nxuar

— Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) January 2, 2021

Go Ad-Free, Get Exclusive Shows and Content, Go Premium Today - $1 Trial

FNC: “A group of GOP senators led by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, will object to the Jan. 6 certification of the presidential election results next week unless there is an emergency 10-day audit of the results by an electoral commission. Cruz and the other senators claim the Nov. 3 election ‘featured unprecedented allegations of voter fraud and illegal conduct.’ Joining Cruz are Sens. Ron Johnson, R-Wis.; James Lankford, R-Okla.; Steve Daines, R-Mont.; John Kennedy, R-La.; Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and Mike Braun, R-Ind.; as well as Sens.-elect Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo.; Roger Marshall, R-Kansas; Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., and Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala.”

“Voter fraud has posed a persistent challenge in our elections, although its breadth and scope are disputed,” the Republican senators said on Saturday. “By any measure, the allegations of fraud and irregularities in the 2020 election exceed any in our lifetimes.”

Go Ad-Free, Get Exclusive Shows and Content, Go Premium Today - $1 Trial

The group says there’s a precedent of Democrats objecting to general election results in 1969, 2001, 2005 and 2019. “And, in both 1969 and 2005, a Democratic Senator joined with a Democratic House Member in forcing votes in both houses on whether to accept the presidential electors being challenged. Congress appointed an Electoral Commission — consisting of five Senators, five House Members, and five Supreme Court Justices — to consider and resolve the disputed returns.

“We should follow that precedent. To wit, Congress should immediately appoint an Electoral Commission, with full investigatory and fact-finding authority, to conduct an emergency 10-day audit of the election returns in the disputed states. Once completed, individual states would evaluate the Commission’s findings and could convene a special legislative session to certify a change in their vote, if needed…Accordingly, we intend to vote on January 6 to reject the electors from disputed states as not ‘regularly given’ and ‘lawfully certified’ (the statutory requisite), unless and until that emergency 10-day audit is completed.”

“American democracy relies on the consent of the governed,” Blackburn and Hagerty said in another statement. “Allegations of voter fraud, irregularities and unconstitutional actions diminish public confidence in what should be a free, fair and transparent process. Protecting the integrity of the electoral process is paramount to preserving trust and legitimacy in the final outcome.” Nice spin. But useless and irrelevant.