How Michael P. Farris Tried to Block 2020 Election Outcome

WASHINGTON — One of the nation’s astir salient spiritual blimpish lawyers played a captious behind-the-scenes relation successful the suit that Republican authorities attorneys wide filed successful December successful a last-ditch effort to overturn the predetermination of President Biden, documents show.

The lawyer, Michael P. Farris, is the main enforcement of a radical known arsenic Alliance Defending Freedom, which is progressive successful opposing termination and cheery rights. He circulated a elaborate draught of the suit that Ken Paxton, the Texas lawyer general, yet filed against states including Pennsylvania, Georgia and Wisconsin successful an effort to assistance President Donald J. Trump stay successful office.

Mr. Paxton filed the lawsuit connected Dec. 7, aft making immoderate changes but keeping ample chunks of the draught circulated by Mr. Farris.

An further 17 Republican attorneys wide filed a brief with the Supreme Court supporting Mr. Paxton’s lawsuit. Within four days, the substance was rejected by the court.

But Mr. Farris’s relation highlighted however spiritual conservatives supported Mr. Trump’s unsuccessful attempts to clasp powerfulness by blocking certification of Mr. Biden’s victory.

“Please find a much-improved mentation of the ailment attached,” Mr. Farris wrote successful an email connected November 30 to the main lawman lawyer wide successful South Carolina, 1 of respective Republicans whom Mr. Farris and a squad of different blimpish lawyers were trying to person to record the lawsuit. “I volition telephone you and update you connected the alternatives.”

The email, obtained via an unfastened records petition by The New York Times and researchers astatine Mount Holyoke College, included a elaborate 42-page ineligible complaint, accusing the states of violating the Constitution by changing the rules related to absentee ballots and different predetermination details without ceremonial support from authorities legislatures.

The ailment Mr. Farris sent had conveniently near the recognition of the Republican lawyer general’s bureau that would yet record the litigation blank, alternatively penning “000 Street Ave, Capitol City, ST 00000, (111) 222-3333, fsurname@oag.StateA.gov, Counsel of Record.”

Mr. Farris’s engagement successful the effort, which has not antecedently been reported, came arsenic portion of a wide propulsion by spiritual conservatives to get Mr. Trump re-elected. Their relation intensified aft the pandemic deed successful aboriginal 2020 and states began to loosen absentee ballot rules, which the spiritual conservatives feared would pb to a surge successful information by wide voters.

Mr. Farris made a sanction for himself successful the 1980s arsenic the laminitis of a ineligible radical that successfully pushed states nationwide to let children to beryllium taught astatine home, based connected a content that lone done home-schooling, distant from secular influences successful nationalist schools, could a wide Christian question emergence successful the United States.

At the Alliance Defending Freedom, Mr. Farris has helped thrust the organization’s run against termination and cheery rights, including the suit litigated by Mr. Farris’s squad that sought to support the close of a Colorado barroom store to garbage to merchantability a wedding barroom to a cheery couple, a lawsuit that went each the mode to the Supreme Court.

Mr. Farris declined a petition for an interview, but successful an email helium confirmed his relation successful the postelection effort, saying his engagement was not a portion of his enactment astatine the Alliance for Defending Freedom, a nonprofit group that is prohibited nether national law from playing immoderate relation successful a governmental campaign.

“While it’s existent that I attraction astir this contented connected a idiosyncratic level, it is not thing that ADF works connected successful immoderate capacity,” helium wrote. “As President and CEO, my complaint is to absorption connected ADF’s mission, which is to support Americans’ God-given freedoms. I person thing to accidental astir the details of the mode guardant connected the contented of predetermination integrity different than the anticipation that each Americans instrumentality the contented seriously.”

A spokesperson for Mr. Paxton did not respond to a petition for comment.

Mr. Farris had not been a instrumentality of Mr. Trump earlier his election, and publically urged different blimpish Christians to ballot for different Republican campaigner successful 2016.

“His candidacy is the antithesis of everything we acceptable retired to achieve,” Mr. Farris wrote successful a Washington Post opinion column successful June 2016.

But Mr. Farris and different spiritual conservatives aboriginal told their followers that Mr. Trump had proven them incorrect with his appointments of blimpish judges, his efforts to artifact immoderate national spending connected abortions, and his willingness to enactment efforts by definite concern owners to discriminate against homosexuals. That included the Colorado barroom shop, which won the close to garbage to merchantability to wedding cakes to cheery couples — successful a ineligible argument that the Trump Justice Department supported.

Religious groups were progressive successful publically challenging the result of the November predetermination from the commencement — adjacent arsenic a overmuch much secretive run was underway, involving Mr. Farris and others, specified arsenic Mark D. Martin, the dean astatine Regent University School of Law, a self-described Christian institution.

Mr. Martin, the erstwhile main justness of the North Carolina Supreme Court, and Mr. Farris were some involved, emails obtained by The Times show, successful attempts to enlistee a Republican lawyer wide to record a suit with the U.S. Supreme Court to further the efforts by allies of Mr. Trump.

Drafts of the suit were besides sent to the Louisiana lawyer general, Jeff Landry, a Republican. But the astir intensive efforts look to person targeted South Carolina and Texas, the emails suggest, arsenic blimpish activists tried to person South Carolina’s lawyer general, Alan Wilson, to service arsenic the pb plaintiff.

“Mike Farris, who is the President and CEO of the Alliance Defending Freedom (formerly Alliance Defense Fund) volition beryllium sending implicit reports, possibly arsenic aboriginal arsenic this evening,” said 1 Nov. 27 email to Mr. Wilson, sent by blimpish activist and author Don Brown, referring to reports examining the statesmanlike predetermination results and ongoing challenges.

Three days later, Mr. Farris wrote to Mr. Wilson’s office, with a draught of the suit helium wanted Mr. Wilson to see filing successful U.S. Supreme Court. Mr. Farris past spoke with Mr. Wilson astir the imaginable lawsuit, according to the emails.

“We person been having changeless conversations with different authorities AGs and authorities AG staffs,” Mr. Wilson wrote successful a Dec. 3 email, besides obtained via an open-records request. “Had a follow-up speech with Mike Farris yesterday greeting anterior to him flying backmost to Texas. Mike was precise accommodating and knowledgeable astir the ineligible issues raised successful the pleading.”

But Mr. Wilson raised objections to the ineligible arguments with Mr. Farris, helium said, questioning whether 1 authorities had the close to writer different authorities implicit predetermination procedures oregon what it mightiness beryllium tenable to inquire the Supreme Court to bash arsenic a “remedy” for specified a ineligible dispute, fixed that it progressive the result of the statesmanlike election.

“There were different issues that person been raised that person been hard to flooded but our unit on with different states are inactive moving done the issue,” Mr. Wilson said.

Not discouraged, the squad of blimpish activists intensified their efforts to enlist Mr. Paxton, who wrong days moved guardant with his suit connected behalf of the authorities of Texas.

“Our Country stands astatine an important crossroads,” the ailment filed by Mr. Paxton said successful its opening argument. Those words were lifted verbatim from the draught Mr. Farris had sent, arsenic was a consequent transition asserting that “either the Constitution matters and indispensable beryllium followed, adjacent erstwhile immoderate officials see it inconvenient oregon retired of date, oregon it is simply a portion of parchment connected show astatine the National Archives. We inquire the Court to take the former.”

Jim Rutenberg contributed reporting.