'Absurdity:' Ex-Gov. Christie Slams The Trump Legal Team Strategy

NEW JERSEY - Former Governor Chris Christie told ABC’s “This Week” host Martha Raddatz President Donald Trump and his legal team's strategy is an "absurd idea."

“The legal theory put forward by his legal team and by the president is an absurdity,” Christie said in the interview. “And the reason why the Supreme Court didn’t take it is because it’s an absurd idea to think that any state, or any number of states, no matter how good they are, can challenge another state’s right to run the election as they see fit. And also there’s no evidence.”

Christie, a staunch ally of President Donald Trump who helped prepare him for his first debate with President-Elect Joe Biden and has publicly defended Trump repeatedly over the years said last month that the conduct of the president's legal team is a "national embarrassment."

Speaking to ABC News' This Week Sunday host George Stephanopoulos in November, the former Republican governor said if there was evidence of fraud, present it. Thus far, that has not happened.

"What's happened here is, quite frankly, the conduct of the president's legal team has been a national embarrassment," Christie said.

Trump's legal team, led by former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, have spoken to the press and made many allegations, but have provided little to no proof – a fact cited by judges who have dismisses dozens of the team's cases in court. One of those allegations caught the attention of Gov. Phil Murphy.

"Mayor Giuliani's claim that Camden residents voted in Philadelphia is not only outrageous, but racist and blatantly false," Murphy said at the time. "On this one, I agree with Chris Christie that this guy is truly a national embarrassment."

This election year Trump lost the popular vote 74,223,755, or 49.9 percent, to Biden's 81,283,495 or 51.4 percent. But what has made this year's after action face more scrutiny is the continued assault by the Trump campaign legal team on the process.

A series of groundless lawsuits were dismissed or declined for lack of standing over the last few weeks as Trump and his allies attempted to alter the result of the election. Last week, New Jersey joined 21 states and territories have come to defense of Pennsylvania in their Supreme Court battle with Texas.

"The people have chosen. These baseless lawsuits and this misinformation campaign must end," said Attorney General Gurbir Grewal. "States took steps to ensure their elections could operate fairly, efficiently and safely in the midst of #COVID19 and I'm proud to stand up for those efforts, and our democracy."

The suit claimed that Pennsylvania, Georgia, Wisconsin and Michigan compromised the election through last-minute changes to election law. States that joined Texas in the lawsuit include Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah and West Virginia.

"Election integrity is central to our republic," Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt said on Twitter. "And I will defend it at every turn."

New Jersey joined with the District of Columbia, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands Thursday and filed an amici curiae.

This means they are offering the court information or advice regarding questions of law or fact.

"Amici States have a strong interest in the outcome of this case. Specifically, the Amici States have a critical interest in allowing state courts and local actors to interpret and implement state election law, and in ensuring that states retain their sovereign ability to safely and securely accommodate voters in light of emergencies such as COVID-19. Amici States, moreover, have a critical interest in ensuring that their sister states—Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin—can give effect to the millions of lawfully cast votes targeted by Texas's lawsuit," the motion reads.

The Supreme Court declined the case.

Officials have repeatedly said there is no evidence of fraud in the 2020 election and that there is no evidence to indicate that mail-in voting is not secure. The claims made in this multi-state suit were raised repeatedly in cases dismissed in both federal and state court in Pennsylvania.

Due to what the GOP plaintiffs in the case describe as fraud in the four battleground states, they urge in the lawsuit that the U.S. Supreme Court throw out the election results in those states and instead allow the respective state legislatures to appoint the winner.

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