A federal appeals court’s dismissal Friday of a Trump campaign
lawsuit challenging the presidential vote in Pennsylvania sets up
an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The Trump campaign can now request an emergency order from
Justice Samuel Alito, who then can ask his eight colleagues to
weigh in. With the recent addition of Amy Coney Barrett, the high
court now has at least five votes regarded as “conservative” or
“originalist,” with Chief Justice John Roberts increasingly
assuming the swing-vote role of former Justice Anthony Kennedy.
The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Friday the
campaign’s claims of widespread voters fraud in an election Joe
Biden won by 80,000 votes “have no merit.”
The Trump lawyers argue the state violated the Constitution’s
guarantee of equal protection under the law when seven counties
where Biden was leading allowed voters to fix errors in their
ballots while other counties did not.
Trump campaign attorney Jenna Ellis said on Twitter after the
court ruling that the “activist judicial machinery in Pennsylvania
continues to cover up the allegations of massive fraud.”
“We are very thankful to have had the opportunity to present
proof and the facts to the PA state legislature,” she wrote. “On to
SCOTUS!”
The three-judge appeals court panel upheld U.S. District Judge
Matthew Brann’s dismissal of a Trump campaign complaint he said
that “like Frankenstein’s Monster, has been haphazardly stitched
together.”
In the 3rd Circuit, Judge Stephanos Bibas wrote: “Free, fair
elections are the lifeblood of our democracy. Charges of unfairness
are serious. But calling an election unfair does not make it so.
Charges require specific allegations and then proof. We have
neither here.”
Earlier this week, in a separate case brought by Republican
lawmakers and candidates,
a judge halted certification of Pennsylvania’s vote. In
Wisconsin,
a judge allowed a petition challenging 150,000 ballots and
a Nevada judge scheduled an evidentiary hearing alleging vote
fraud robbed President Trump of victory.
Late Wednesday night,
attorney Sidney Powell filed two lawsuits alleging that
evidence of massive fraud should overturn the Georgia and Michigan
results.
Earlier Wednesday, in Pennsylvania, Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy
Giuliani, along with state lawmakers, heard witnesses testify of
fraud on election night, including the alleged dump
of some 570,000 votes for Biden in the early morning hours after
polls closed.
On Election night, Trump led in Pennsylvania by nearly 700,000
votes with 65% reporting.
Authority resides with legislature
The Trump lawsuit names the secretary of the commonwealth, Kathy
Boockvar, along with the seven counties.
The lower-court judge, Brann, dismissed the case with prejudice,
barring the Trump campaign from filing an amended complaint.
The judge scolded the campaign, asserting it is essentially
asking the court “to disenfranchise almost 7 million voters.”
“This court has been unable to find any case in which a
plaintiff has sought such a drastic remedy in the contest of an
election, in terms of the sheer volume of votes asked to be
invalidated,” he said.
The campaign appealed Brann’s denial of a motion to amend the
complaint “solely on the basis of undue delay.” It asked the Third
Circuit to send the matter back down to the lower court “to
promptly decide it on the merits and proceed expeditiously to a
hearing to enjoin certifying the results of the Presidential
Election.”
Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton, on Twitter, called the
district court’s decision in Pennsylvania “a miscarriage of justice
and nakedly political,” arguing that under the Constitution, “it is
ultimately up the Pennsylvania legislature to protect election
integrity and appoint a clean slate of electors.”
The post
Pennsylvania ruling sets up Trump appeal to Supreme Court
appeared first on WND.
