1/11
This week, over half the Republican Congress signed on to a Texas lawsuit asking the Supreme Court to invalidate millions of votes in 4 battleground states, despite having ZERO evidence of voter fraud. This is shocking but, sadly, not the least bit surprising. #velshi

2/11
Last night, the Supreme Court—including all 3 of Donald Trump’s appointees—rejected Texas’ case to overturn the election results. But one wonders whether it would have been more useful for the court to have heard it and then decided against it. #velshi
3/11
Trump’s tactics may not have worked in the ACTUAL courts, but a poll out this week indicated that 77% of Republicans believe there was fraud in this election. While most of that misinformation comes from Donald Trump himself—he’s the spark—the fuel is all around us. #velshi
4/11
Months ago, I warned that congressional candidates who hold dangerous fringe views could potentially get elected. They did, and I thought that was going to be our biggest problem moving forward: candidates whipping up conspiracies on the campaign trail. #velshi
5/11
I failed at the time to recognize that the dangers are far greater. Since Nov 3, elected members of the GOP and their constituents have pushed actual lies in favor of overturning the election and the will of the people who voted Biden in and Trump out. #velshi
6/11
It’s one thing if Biden’s victory had been like Trump’s: an Electoral College win without the popular vote. But 7 million more people voted for Joe Biden, and in responding to more than 50 cases filed, no court has found a single instance of voter fraud. #velshi
7/11
No double or triple voting, no dead people voting. Just people not voting for Donald Trump. #velshi
8/11
To the GOP’s conspiracy theorists and congressional enablers, it doesn’t matter that there’s no evidence of voter fraud and that recount after recount has shown Trump to be the loser every time. They want what Trump wants: to subvert democracy. #velshi
9/11
I don’t know whether the fringe found Trump or Trump found the fringe, but this stuff is real. From the ridiculous but increasingly dangerous “stop-the-steal” movement to the undermining of COVID precautions, Trump and his enablers have made these ideas mainstream. #velshi
10/11
Trump empowers these fringe thinkers, and they support his every perverted and unjust idea. It’s a dangerous relationship that is damaging our nation’s foundations. And Trump doesn’t seem to care. #velshi
11/11
Trump continues to test our norms, the Constitution and our freedoms under his fact-free but still substantial influence. He is, after all, still the President of the United States. #velshi

More from Ali Velshi

More from Court

Some initial observations about this case, and in particular what the Court of Appeal made of the Attorney General’s application to refer these sentences as “unduly lenient”.

Spoiler: it makes uncomfortable reading for the Attorney General.


First, by way of background. I was one of several commentators astonished that the Attorney General, who has no known experience of practising criminal law, decided to personally present this serious case at the Court of Appeal.

It appeared an overtly political decision.


Comments leaked to the press confirmed this was a political decision, to capitalise on a tragic case in the headlines.

A “friend” of the Attorney General told the Express that she was pursuing the case *against* legal advice. She also took a preemptive pop at the judges.


On the day of the hearing, it appeared from selected reports that the AG was out of her depth. She appeared to be making political submissions to the Court of Appeal that have no place in a case of this type.


The Court of Appeal judgment helps understand what happened.

The AG played a limited role. She “rehearsed some of the facts and said that the sentences had caused widespread public concern”

Her contribution was seemingly not considered by the Court to be legal submissions. Oof.

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