Ben Sasse slams Texas lawsuit — and says Ken Paxton looks like a 'fella begging for a pardon'

On Thursday, Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE) tore into the lawsuit by 17 states to try to overturn the election in four swing states — and suggested that the lead architect of the case, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, is just leveraging his office to signal to outgoing President Donald Trump he wants a pardon.

"I'm no lawyer, but I suspect the Supreme Court swats this away," said Sasse. "From the brief, it looks like a fella begging for a pardon filed a PR stunt rather than a lawsuit — as all of its assertions have already been rejected by federal courts and Texas' own solicitor general isn't signing on."

Paxton, the chairman of Lawyers for Trump, is currently under FBI investigation for bribery and misuse of office after more than half a dozen aides came forward accusing him of illegally giving favors to a real estate investor who contributed $25,000 to his campaign. Several of these whistleblowers have since been fired or resigned, sparking additional allegations of retaliation.

According to KXAN, Paxton — who has also been under indictment for securities fraud for five years — denies that he has discussed a pardon with the outgoing president.