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© Thomson Reuters 2020.In new blow to Trump, U.S. court rejects Pennsylvania election case
By Tom Hals WASHINGTON©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.
99 Comments
sf2k
This must be a mental illness of some kind. The most secure election with the highest turnout should be celebrated, not ruined by people who are clearly insane
Simon Foston
Trump also had this to say:
I wonder if Trump supporters stand by their occasional assertion that it is up to the accusing party to prove guilt, rather than for the accused to prove innocence. I mean, by the standards they apply themselves the Democrats right now are innocent of any such voter fraud just like Trump was innocent on all counts in his Senate impeachment trial.
klausdorthToday 06:35 am JST
Plain stupidity could be a big factor. I think a lot of them will see reason and accept the facts before not too long, especially if Trump and Giuliani keep behaving like this and be made fools of by judges Trump has appointed himself.
SuperLib
Stop me if you've heard this before....
plasticmonkey
All three judges in this case are Republicans. One was appointed by Trump. Now they’re part of the “activist judicial machinery”?
Jenna Ellis is a moron.
Raw Beer
Most people realize the election was a fraud.
PTownsend
That many Americans accept the words of Trump, a male who's spread over 20,000 'intentional misinformations' in the last 4 years, males like Rudy Giuliani and Alex Jones who spin conspiracy theories,
while those same Americans disbelieve and distrust the courts, people and organizations responsible for ensuring free, fair elections, a Trump appointee (fired by Trump) in charge of federal elections, plus others in positions of responsibility shows
how much damage Trump, the Republican Party, Rupert Murdoch/Fox, Sinclair broadcasting, Limbaugh, Steve Bannon etal plus troll armies from Moscow, Beijing, Ankara, Tehran and elsewhere have done to the country.
And how intellectually vulnerable so many Americans are.
Haaa Nemui
Most of less than 50%.
OssanAmerica
Most people gifted with a brain realize that the only "fraud" is Trump's claiming there was fraud. Trump is claiming the Democrats "stole" the election when it is Trump and his minions alone who are trying to "steal" the election. It's over Biden won. Trump lost.
Yrral
So pathetic helpless as person of the most powerful army
ReynardFox
It’s funny. Trump and his legal team will howl “FRAUD!” at the top of their lungs in public, but when they are in court - where lying or making accusations without evidence can have dire consequences - suddenly they are no long alleging fraud. None of the lawsuits in PA allege fraud or illegal voting or that republicans were treated any different than democrats; a point which the judge makes clear in his decision to throw out the lawsuit. I guess none of his legal team are willing to risk possible disbarring in order to feed Trump’s delusions. After all, they went through nigh half a dozen lawyers in the space of 72 hours.
Ah_so
Well, actually that's about half of republican voters, which is about 10% if the population of the USA, and about 0.5% if the world's population.
That it is so small is a good thing.
To believe something without evidence, especially an extraordinary claim, suggests weak mental powers.
Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence and so far there has been none at all.
HonestDictator
Believe what you want, but reality always wins. Truth will always up-end lies no matter how much people want to deceive themselves or believe in lies.
Learn from history. When people try to deny or over turn legitimate election results for their own ends what happens? It's quite obvious that even you know what happens.
The Avenger
If at first you fail, then fail, fail again.
Yet another reason why it's so important for Georgia Republican voters to either boycott the runoff elections on January 7th or to write in Trump to prove that there’s widespread massive fraud.
PTownsend
Their job is not to read and reason; it's to pour more fuel on fires.
Bob Fosse
Will ALL the evidence be written on the back of a napkin?
SCOTUS won’t go near this. You know it.
funkymofo
Fraud must be pled with particularity, which means specific facts, not wild general allegations.
If something is not included in the complaint, no evidence can be presented to support that claim. It is not an issue in the lawsuit.
FRCP (Federal Rule of Civil Procedure) 11 states that any attorney who misrepresents facts in a pleading, or who makes baseless allegations in Court, can be sanctioned. Giuliani et al know this; this is why when they are actually in Court, they have admitted they are not asserting fraud and that they have no facts to support the claim.
Out of Court affidavits (especially those which have names redacted or which are based on hearsay or personal belief) are not admissible in Court.
The only facts which matter in a lawsuit are the ones properly admitted in the trial court. Neither the Court of Appeals nor the Supreme Court will considers new facts, except in extraordinary circumstances which are not present here. The claim that Trump is waiting to get to the Supreme Court to suddenly reveal support for his claims is a claim which could only be made by the most malpractice prone attorneys.
There is no "right" to have a case heard by the Supreme Court.
Not my research, but useful to know if you’re pinning your hopes on the Supreme Court to overturn the election
B. Jay
ulysses
Jenna and Rudy , the dimwits they are, admit in court there is no fraud. But outside they squeal and whine all kinds of stupid conspiracies.
The SCOTUS doesn’t listen to every deranged person who can think up a delusion. But the GOP is welcome to throw their money down the drain!!!
bass4funk
And what has the liberal media done? Definitely not full or honest reporting on this President for years as well as the disinformation they have been filling their airwaves with and they are the absolute last people to complain about misinformation. Too funny.
As well as being threatened and lied to in order to change votes. When you have 70+ million people that think this was anything but free you have a problem and that problem won’t go away because CNN and their pundits or the Bezos, Joe and Mika say it’s not.
Not nearly as much as the liberal msm over the last 4 years, but to be honestly fair, they align themselves with the left in the same way you describe how these people align with Trump. The greatest damage Trump has done and without a doubt is exposing the establishment swamp for what it is and that genie is not going back in the bottle, it’s just getting started. Xi is happy and can rejoice now having a weak....partner that he can push around for the next 4 years, so this is definitely a huge win for them.
Hmmm..
bob
low information commentators will ignore this crucial quote.
This was always the endgame for the Trump team. Politicized lower-courts were always going to side with the Democrats. Getting this to a 5-4 conservative SCOTUS is the goal. Its where we're headed.
ulysses
trump sitting at a small desk, like a kindergartner, whining about the election rout, was the funniest thing in the last few days.
That’s something when you look at all the entertainment Rudy’s been giving us over the last few weeks.
Wolfpack
Keep appealing. Resistance worked for the Dems. The Republicans have no choice but play by the same rules they do. Playing nice never works when it comes to those who wish to fundamentally transform America.
bob
Beautiful to see, ain't it! The usual suspects here who have cried for 4 years straight are getting a dose of what awaits them should Biden actually become President.
And they don't like it one bit!
Ah_so
It is not that many, but either way, society clearly does have a problem - how millions of people can be made to believe something so outrageous without any evidence is a damning indictment on the depths to which the intellect of mainstream society has shrunk.
Stewie
Its like watching a train wreck...in slow motion.
Ah_so
Why were republican nominated judged always going to side with the Democrats?
Ah yes, the politicized supreme court. But it will enforce the law based on evidence, not disgrace themselves in order to support the irrational claims of Trump.
Wolfpack
The fact that it will fail at the Supreme Court is not the point. Just as Hillary’s dossier was destined to fail it served its purpose. See Trumps legal fight for what it is - political warfare on par with the tactics used by Gore in 2000. Dems, and of course their media allies, continued to use Gore’s legal maneuvers to undermine W for many years. That’s all this is about.
Jimizo
So that’s when the walls will close in on Biden?
bob
Yup. And when that happens, President Trump wins his second term.
Wolfpack
Yeah I know what you mean. Russia Russia Russia. The sheep on the Left bought it hook line and sinker and were motivated by their ginned up hatred of Trump to win elections - especially 2018. From a tactical perspective the roles from 2018 will be reversed in 2022. Pelosi sees the writing on the wall and has already agreed that this will be her last term as majority leader in the House.
bob
hmmmmm, shall I engage with the same character who after pontificating on a previous thread finally admitted he was checks notes "Not familiar with the subject"...
Sorry, Jimmy. Show me a detailed opposing argument. And, as always,...
citations, please....
bass4funk
because it’s a faulty system up and down anyway you look at it.
Well, that’s what the Democrats want, if they can get enough conservatives to stay at home that plays directly into their hands and that’s the exact opposite of what Trump and the conservatives want.
Blacklabel
Hello Supreme Court.
Jimizo
I think you’ll find I didn’t offer any opinion on the subject. I asked for the conspiracy theory, rightist podcaster watcher and trash tabloid reader take on the issue.
You failed to deliver despite being in all of the three groups mentioned.
You seem to be predicting Trump will serve a second term. Are you truly convinced of this or just trolling?
Honest question.
yamada1043
The irrational current occupant of the White House continues to claim of massive fraud, and insists that he was elected by a landslide.
The only fraud is him and has been a fraud most of his life.
Bob Fosse
The delusion continues. Whatever you imagine is going to happen will. not. happen.
trump is done, you’re going to have to deal with Biden. Too bad.
ClippetyClop
Someone needs to have a quiet word with Trump's team of crack legal experts. They keep showing up in court without the evidence bit of the 'Massive voter fraud!'. I'd have thought that might be an important file to bring.
Go on Bob, have a word. The walls aren't going to close in unless they bring that file.
lincolnman
Well it seems Trump, after failing to get his Nobel Peace Prize, a bigger inauguration crowd than Obama, or a Kim-style military parade, is trying for one last trophy....
Yes, Trump will likely win the Guinness World Record for most court cases lost....
A fitting end to the nightmare that has been the last four years - comes in a Loser, goes out one...
SuperLib
Are you saying that by the time it reaches the Supreme Court, Trump and his lawyers will have evidence of fraud? Or are you saying that the Supreme Court will simply overturn the results and hand the election to Trump despite presenting no evidence of fraud?
bass4funk
Seems like the Democrats don’t have any as well as they are constantly underestimating Trump supporters or anyone with an opposing political and legal viewpoint
lincolnman
So, I'll ask the Trump supporters here one more time - they've fled from answering this the past three days;
So for the third time, if what you say is true, then why are three of Trump's Attorneys stating under oath that "this is not a fraud case" and "we are not alleging fraud or that the election was stolen"?
Giuliani: "This is not a fraud case"...
His Attorney in Pennsylvania: "There is no evidence of any fraud"...
His Attorney in Arizona: "We are not alleging fraud or anyone stealing the election"...
SuperLib
The long-term danger is the weaponization of election mistakes and anecdotal evidence. When you have tens of thousand of volunteers and election officials there will always be human error. It might become common to claim fraud every time someone finds 300 ballots that weren't counted. "Well if they got that wrong who knows what else they got wrong?" etc.
It requires a perfect election system which just isn't possible.
Trump and Republicans have claimed fraud in the last three elections - 2016, 2018, and 2020. To date they have proven none of it in any of those elections. Obviously it's now an official party strategy when they lose, especially when they lose a close election. At any level. And it's not going away anytime soon.
If they have a base that believes in fraud despite no evidence then there's not much we can do about it except ignore them and move on with our lives. For them, believing in fraud will always be preferred to believing they lost.
Bob Fosse
It’s not an opposing political or legal viewpoint. It’s just plain wrong.
The law does not have ‘viewpoints’. Evidence is factual, not something you just have to believe in.
Jimizo
As far as I know, Trump’s elite legal team hasn’t scored any significant blows in its legal challenge. One judge seemed annoyed that he had his time wasted.
Where does the underestimating come in?
ArtistAtLarge
Exactly P. Smith. Trump supporters constantly display their ignorance of facts and science.
jack o helen
Unfortunately, Republicans aren't playing by the same rules. They've stooped to the lowest of the low. In 2016, on NOVEMBER 9TH, Hillary Clinton gave her concession speech. In it, she stated:
Notice, how she actually congratulated Trump in a timely manner and hoped that he would be a successful president. No holding up of the transition. No continuous whining over the results.
She also stated:
Can you actually Trump saying anything close to that?
https://edition.cnn.com/2016/11/09/politics/hillary-clinton-concession-speech/index.html
ClippetyClop
'Alternative evidence' I'm guessing.
Dealing with delusional right wingers here is like the plot from 'Shutter Island'. You have to allow them the safe space to act out their conspirational delusions in the grim hope that they might just achieve sanity at the end of it. But really you want to shake them by the collars and tell them to wake the hell up.
bass4funk
Ok, that’s your opinion, but millions of us disagree.
Yeah, it should, but given the last 4 years, Dems Will call anything factual if it lands on their side and if it’s not, then it’s just a bogus claim without merit
bass4funk
Not something unusual in the US, let’s wait until it gets to the Supreme Court
And that’s bad if you allow your personal feelings into the court room, speaks volumes on what side he’s own, at least hide your personal feelings for Christ sake
SuperLib
Actually, we overestimated Trump supporters. We assumed no American would vote for a man who makes fun of a 14-year old girl was Aspergers, brags about molesting women, and defrauds Americans out of their money.
That's where we were wrong.
jack o helen
Shouting hearsay, rumors, or conspiracies without any hard facts, won't get you anywhere in a court of law. Thank god for honest judges who listen to facts. If they didn't, then anyone could claim that another person hurt them and have them punished without any evidence. Innocent people could go to jail, if we followed the Republican way of making baseless claims.
Valid point. I too think the number of Trump supporters were underestimated. However, Republicans also underestimated how many voters who voted for Trump in 2016, switched this time around. The proof of how many is captured on Twitter, Youtube, etc. I've watched so many videos of lifelong registered Republicans who voted for Trump in 2016, but swore not to vote for him this time because of a laundry list of reasons.
Also, Trump basically shot himself in the foot concerning this election. By disparaging veterans, John McCain (who has a strong following in Arizona), and women voters, he lost a lot of their confidence in him. Trump stupidly thought people won't remember his insults of them.
lincolnman
I hear Trump is going to hire the same set of lawyers to defend him from "shooting someone on Fifth Ave", as he has now for his election fraud case....
Trump and his lawyer in court...
Mr Trump, how do you plead?
Innocent, totally innocent, bigly innocent - and 47% of the people here in the courtroom agree...
OK, Mr Trump's Counsel, do you have any opening remarks...
First let me say under oath that I am not alleging that Mr Trump is innocent, nor that he did not commit the crime with which he is charged...
Bob Fosse
You opinion doesn’t matter. The judges’ opinions do. And they’ve all been very clear. There is no evidence.
Its hard admitting when you’re wrong, lost and were deceived. Clearly.
Jimizo
Not if the ‘evidence’ you are being presented with is a waste of the court’s time.
The court’s time is finite.
Blacklabel
that mail in voting exceptions were not authorized by the state legislature, as state law requires.
Act 77, which created a new category of mail in voting in PA, is unconstitutional.
In Michigan, you must be confined to your home to vote mail in. 200.000 more people in 2020 than in 2016 claimed permanent confinement in order to illegally vote by mail in.
therefore, all mail in votes that are illegal can be discarded.
Blacklabel
basically in PA, when the lawsuit was filed, the state told the judge the results had not been certified.
Then the next day they certified the results, then went back to the court and said "too late, already been certified, but only the Presidential race". But they didnt take the official actions associated with doing that, just held a press conference.
The judge says:
Petitioners appear to have a viable claim that the mail-in ballot procedures set forth in Act 77 contravene Pa. Const. Article VII Section 14 as the plain language of that constitutional provision is at odds with the mail-in provisions of Act 77. Since this presents an issue of law which has already been thoroughly briefed by the parties, this Court can state that Petitioners have a likelihood of success on the merits of its Pennsylvania Constitutional claim.
bass4funk
Still, you shouldn’t, Sullivan did it and now Trump made sure and relieved him so he didn’t have to be burdened by his personal partisan beliefs.
Blacklabel
throwing out all mail-in ballots is not the only remedy. judge also says that state legislatures could choose electors of their choice to congress since her ruling is that the election was likely unconditional in PA due to the unlawful mail in balloting. Republicans control the state legislature.
bass4funk
I don’t know and I want to speculate because I am not one of his lawyers, I’ll leave the speculating to CNN and all the other liberal networks, maybe Jim Acosta knows, he knows everything.
That’s the problem. But now it’s on to the Supreme Court and if Biden is the president, I can imagine the Democrats will go to the same thing when they try to round some of the toxic socialist policies through, the lower courts will come in just in handy. Oh, but that karma....
Blacklabel
how many swing states controlled by Dems loosened the rules for mail in voting without bothering to change the law because they knew the Republican legislatures wouldnt pass it? If its unconstitutional in PA, likely everywhere else too.
Uh oh.
Bob Fosse
What are you going to do on December 15th? Oh yeah, the senate run off. And after that?
Blacklabel
that was a ruling from a judge today in a court case in PA, sorry.
Judge:
Additionally, Petitioners appear to have established a likelihood to succeed on the merits because Petitioners have asserted the Constitution does not provide a mechanism for the legislature to allow for expansion of absentee voting without a constitutional amendment.
bob
a little backstory for the uninitiated;
Prior to the SCOTUS decision in Bush v. Gore, every federal court and every state supreme court had ruled FOR Gore every time until SCOTUS. Election contests only start next week, and the key procedural aspect of Bush v. Gore was it started as an election contest.
Bob Fosse
You seriously believe the Supreme Court will disenfranchise millions of voters and rule that trump won the election in a landslide?
Let me get this right, you truly believe this will happen?
bass4funk
It definitely could happen “if” it is determined that full scale fraud happened, that is always a possibility.
funkymofo
lincolnman
Trump supporters are nothing if not entertaining....
First they tell us Trump will win in a landslide...
Then they tell us he'll win.....but not by a landslide...
Then they say he'll win when all the mail-in and absentee votes are counted...
Then they say he won, but Dems got "dead people" to vote for them...
Then they say he won, but Hugo Chavez, who's been dead for seven years, developed software to steal Trump votes...
Seems like a lot of obsession with "dead" - well, it does describe his election hopes...
And they wonder why even Trump-appointed judges are all saying; "No Merit"....
The Trump Crazy Train is still chugging along to Crazy Town...
And I'll ask a fifth time;
*If what you say is true, then why are three of Trump's Attorneys stating under oath that *"this is not a fraud case" and "we are not alleging fraud or that the election was stolen"?
Giuliani: "This is not a fraud case"...
His Attorney in Pennsylvania: "There is no evidence of any fraud"...
His Attorney in Arizona: "We are not alleging fraud or anyone stealing the election"...
Blacklabel
sure. if the votes that were counted are not legal votes according to the Constitution.
Its not disenfranchising anyone just because who they wanted to win didnt legally win.
A vote is legal or it isnt. Pennsylvania law says only absentee ballots are allowed under certain criteria.
There is no exception in the Constitution to support mail in voting that doesnt follow the legal absentee ballot procedure.
Trial Judge agrees.
ArtistAtLarge
Update:
Trump loses appeal in Pennsylvania: "Calling an election unfair does not make it so"
By Kathryn Watson
Updated on: November 27, 2020 / 3:09 PM / CBS News
The Trump campaign lost another battle Friday in their attempt to prove mass fraud in the election, something thus far they've been unable to do. This time, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals denied the campaign's request for an injunction in Pennsylvania to undo the Keystone State's certification of its votes.
Trump-appointed Judge Stephanos Bibas, who wrote the opinion for the three-judge panel, said the campaign's arguments have no merit. Pennsylvania certified its election results last week, and the federal government's General Services Administration has allowed for the formal transition process to take place.
Bob Fosse
It’s strange that this bombshell breaking news has just come to light and isn’t anywhere to be found on news sites.
You’d better get this information to Rudy quick.
bass4funk
Wish we could say the thing about Biden supporters.
Looking at the exit polls on its face, it does seem so until....
True.
Russia was an obsession as well.
Philly and Detroit known historically for its corruption, officials are trying to say to us, nothing happened? Again, we are talking about Philly and Detroit. Lol
bob
The only people who will be disenfranchised are the tens of thousands of fake names mysteriously uploaded to Dominion voting machines in every swing state.
Yeah, fancy that. The MSM is censoring news just like they did before the election. Post-election polls show many Biden voters were unaware of his son's scandal, ME peace deals, and the roaring economy. Some 17% would have changed their vote.
https://www.cnsnews.com/article/national/alexander-watson/poll-shows-media-censorship-cheated-voters-vital-info-robbed
jack o helen
So what about in 2016, when Michigan went to Trump? Was it corrupt then? Probably not because according to Republicans' twisted sense of logic, it is only corrupt if Trump loses, but somehow, if Trump wins, it isn't corrupt. Trump only wishes the world worked like that.
funkymofo
"CNS-The Right News. Right Now"
Hahahahaha-totally legit non biased news organization. Check them out.
Wolfpack
Did you also notice that Hillary immediately began complaining that the election was stolen and let the country go through years of pointless drama undermining American democracy based on opposition research that her campaign weaponized? She made the same claim just a few months ago while also advising Biden never to concede even if he lost. People know that Hillary is a sore loser and holds onto her grievances with the deplorables to this day.
lincolnman
You see dead people too? And I thought that was just a fictional movie...
Uh-huh....so for the sixth time, why are Trump's lawyers all saying before a judge; "No fraud"?
jack o helen
Did she block the GSA from accepting Trump's win? No.
Did she stop Obama from meeting with Trump and taking part in the transition? No.
Did she pressure Obama to make illogical firings and hirings in the Pentagon, possibly endangering the nation's security as a result? No.
Did she file dozens of frivolous lawsuits, wasting taxpayers' money and judges' time; time that could've been spent on more serious cases? No.
bass4funk
Easy, most people didn’t think Trump would win, yours truly as well. Again, we are talking about Detroit here.
Rhetorical question?
Trump Never floated the idea of mail in voting. Canada doesn’t do it, makes perfect sense not to, but the Dems got there way, but this crap won’t happen again, now they’re definitely on notice.
jack o helen
It should also be noted that Trump's lawyers are basing fraud on two cases in Pennsylvania in Fayette and Luzerne counties ( both of which voted unanimously for Trump), and then blowing it up to include all counties in Pennsylvania. According to them, these two cases of fraud should be indicative to all of Pennsylvania. That doesn't make sense at all.
Yes, there were two cases of legitimate fraud, but they were done by Republican voters. Democrats shouldn't be punished for Republican crimes. No matter how you look at it, that's wrong.
lincolnman
Oh OK, you allege dead people voted but you haven't actually seen them. That sums up Trump's arguments to date perfectly - they did it but we have no proof... You can't even convince a Trump-appointed judge...
Hmmm....so saying "no fraud" is truthful, but if they said "there is fraud", they'd be committing perjury...
You just validated that there is no fraud...thanks....
bass4funk
Funny how a lot of those officials counting are Democrats....how ironic.
It shouldn’t but technology can change everything with a push of a button.
By walking in and voting in person? How dare they!!!
jack o helen
Then we are in agreement. Demographics and attitudes change. Trump won Michigan fair and square in 2016, just like Biden won it fair and square this year. It happens. Just because we may be surprised by the results doesn't make it fraud. I've accepted both outcomes. It happens. But to be fair, I get it. Trump and his supporters don't like the results, so they want to resort to crying fraud. I just wish they would eventually get over it and get back to helping the country get better, rather than beating the dead horse over and over.
jack o helen
Funny how even the Republican officials, like the Secretary of State of Georgia is condemning these witch hunts by the GOP. Even the Republican officials of these states are saying that the system was sound and fair. Yet, Trump and his lawyers are saying otherwise.