U.S. judge calls Trump claim challenging Biden win in Pennsylvania 'Frankenstein's Monster'

[webfact]

U.S. judge calls Trump claim challenging Biden win in Pennsylvania 'Frankenstein's Monster'

By Jan Wolfe and Tom Hals

 

FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump delivers an address from the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, U.S., November 13, 2020. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo

 

(Reuters) - A federal judge on Saturday dismissed a lawsuit critical to President Donald Trump's long-shot bid to overturn his Nov. 3 election loss to Democratic President-elect Joe Biden, calling his legal claim a "Frankenstein's Monster."

 

The Trump campaign had sought to prevent state officials from certifying the results of the election in the state.

 

U.S. District Judge Matthew Brann in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, described the case as "strained legal arguments without merit and speculative accusations."

 

Brann said that he "has no authority to take away the right to vote of even a single person, let alone millions of citizens."

 

The lawsuit before Brann was filed on Nov. 9 and had alleged inconsistent treatment by county election officials of mail-in ballots. Some counties notified voters that they could fix minor defects such as missing "secrecy envelopes" while others did not.

 

"This claim, like Frankenstein's Monster, has been haphazardly stitched together," wrote Brann.

 

Brann, nominated by former President Barack Obama, is a Republican and, according to his biography, a member of the Federalist Society, a group of conservative and libertarian lawyers, law students and scholars.

 

Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani said in a statement he was disappointed with the ruling and will appeal. "Today’s decision turns out to help us in our strategy to get expeditiously to the U.S. Supreme Court," he said.

 

 

The campaign will ask the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia to review the ruling on an accelerated timetable, according to Giuliani. A majority of that circuit's judges were nominated by Republican presidents. Four were nominated by Trump.

 

For Trump to have any hope of overturning the election, he needs to reverse the outcome in Pennsylvania, which is scheduled to be certified by state officials on Monday.

 

"Today's ruling is a victory for the rule of law, and for the voters of Pennsylvania, whom the Trump campaign sought to disenfranchise on the flimsiest legal theory imaginable," wrote election law scholar Rick Hasen on Twitter.

 

The Trump campaign and its supporters have filed dozens of lawsuits in six closely contested states. The campaign's only victories extended the Election Day voting hours at a handful of polling places in Nevada and set aside some provisional ballots in Pennsylvania, according to court records.

 

Attempts to thwart the certification of the election have failed in courts in Georgia, Michigan and Arizona.

 

In the Pennsylvania case, Brann also denied a campaign request to amend the suit to claim violations of the U.S. Constitution. The campaign wanted Brann to allow Pennsylvania's Republican-controlled state legislature to appoint electors who would back for Trump at the Electoral College vote on Dec. 14.

 

Under Pennsylvania law, the candidate who wins the popular vote in the state gets all the state's electoral votes.

 

A presidential candidate needs 270 electoral votes to win the election, and Biden leads in the electoral vote count by 306-232.

 

Electoral votes are allocated among the 50 states and the District of Columbia based roughly on population.

 

(Reporting by Jan Wolfe; Additional reporting by Raphael Satter and Aram Roston; Editing by Daniel Wallis, Dan Grebler, Noeleen Walder and Lincoln Feast.)

 

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-11-23

 

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[stevenl]

So who does trump's, trump's campaign, rnc's legal team consist of now?

[Walker88]

With the sudden removal of sidney powell from "elite strikeforce team", it seems 45's legal people are showing every bit the competence and loyalty to each other that his administration showed in its four disastrous years....which is to say none.

 

There is all sorts of cognitive dissonance happening in the world of 45 and his supporters now, with few having any clue as to what absurdities they should still cling to. Many have turned on Fox, 45's Party (republican) have turned on each other (against Sen Romney, GA State SecState Raffensperger), and now they need to decide which made-up, wild <deleted> conspiracy theory they should believe, as now-dismissed powell was the author of the Venzuela-CIA payoff scheme to GA Governor Kemp, but apparently not the author of the 'we dug up Hugo Chavez and found he had servers in Germany that manipulated votes in Michigan'.

 

Chris Christie called the entire 'elite strikeforce team' a national embarrassment, and he's too kind in limiting himself to that description. The team dumped Whacko Karen (sidney powell), but kept the one who dripped hair dye in his wild-eyed rant. Where is the bar for sanity?

[Sujo]

Winning.

[Scott]

Off-topic post removed. 

 

[Eric Loh]

34 minutes ago, Walker88 said:

With the sudden removal of sidney powell from "elite strikeforce team

She takes crazy to another level. One of her many crazy moments was that she claimed in an interview with Newsmax was that Bernie lost to Hillary in the primaries because of Dominion Voting System rigging. The creme de la creme was that Bernie knew that but kept silent. That kind of craziness in the elite strikeforce. More like a loony force.

Edited November 23, 2020 by Eric Loh

[Peterw42]

40 minutes ago, Walker88 said:

With the sudden removal of sidney powell from "elite strikeforce team", it seems 45's legal people are showing every bit the competence and loyalty to each other that his administration showed in its four disastrous years....which is to say none.

 

There is all sorts of cognitive dissonance happening in the world of 45 and his supporters now, with few having any clue as to what absurdities they should still cling to. Many have turned on Fox, 45's Party (republican) have turned on each other (against Sen Romney, GA State SecState Raffensperger), and now they need to decide which made-up, wild <deleted> conspiracy theory they should believe, as now-dismissed powell was the author of the Venzuela-CIA payoff scheme to GA Governor Kemp, but apparently not the author of the 'we dug up Hugo Chavez and found he had servers in Germany that manipulated votes in Michigan'.

 

Chris Christie called the entire 'elite strikeforce team' a national embarrassment, and he's too kind in limiting himself to that description. The team dumped Whacko Karen (sidney powell), but kept the one who dripped hair dye in his wild-eyed rant. Where is the bar for sanity?

 

I didn't realise this had happend. thanks or the update.

I'm a little disappointed as her ramblings were very entertaining.

[herfiehandbag]

3 hours ago, stevenl said:

So who does trump's, trump's campaign, rnc's legal team consist of now?

Oh, I'm sure that they will have another "elite strike force" in the wings.

 

A bit like London buses - nothing for four years and then half a dozen come along at once!

[herfiehandbag]

2 hours ago, Peterw42 said:

 

I didn't realise this had happend. thanks or the update.

I'm a little disappointed as her ramblings were very entertaining.

Oh I'm sure there will be plenty more comic moments to treasure as thee next elite strike force gets into it's stride!

[Emdog]

3 hours ago, herfiehandbag said:

Oh I'm sure there will be plenty more comic moments to treasure as thee next elite strike force gets into it's stride!

Maybe "strike force" is reference to American baseball: 3 strikes you're out! They're hoping for balls, as they lack brains...

[charmonman]

Better call Saul.

[soalbundy]

I've been fighting a war of words on Youtube posts for 5 days now with Trump fanatics, around 3 posts a day, today....silence, it looks like even the fanatics have been hit by reality.

[soalbundy]

3 hours ago, herfiehandbag said:

Oh I'm sure there will be plenty more comic moments to treasure as thee next elite strike force gets into it's stride!

I'm not so sure about that, even the chief henchman Giuliani has been threatened with action to remove him from the bar for his raising of frivolous suits before a court of law, it was this fear that caused his first bunch of lawyers to desert him.

[Paul Henry]

There is really nothing left to say. Words cannot describe the lunatic currently running the country. Bleeding his supporters for money says it all. The lowest of the low. The judiciary is not putting up with his lies and falsehoods and at last Republican senators are slowly finding the balls to face the truth.

[soalbundy]

Just now, Paul Henry said:

There is really nothing left to say. Words cannot describe the lunatic currently running the country. Bleeding his supporters for money says it all. The lowest of the low. The judiciary is not putting up with his lies and falsehoods and at last Republican senators are slowly finding the balls to face the truth.

Oh they already know the truth, their balls have just got slightly bigger.

[herfiehandbag]

2 hours ago, soalbundy said:

Oh they already know the truth, their balls have just got slightly bigger.

Yes, they do tend to swell up when you are kicked hard in them!

[Srikcir]

The Circuit Court establishes the facts for which it applies the law. But it dismissed the case for lack of "adjudicated" evidence. 

The Appeals court applies the law to review the Circuit Court's ruling. But it can't because the Circuit Court made no adjudication lacking evidence. There is no law to review.

The Supreme Court likewise cannot review a Trump adverse Court of Appeals dismissal by the Circuit Court (ie., agrees with dismissal) if Appeals refuses to adjudicate the Circuit Court's ruling to reject the case for lack of judicial evidence.

You cannot bring new evidence into the Supreme Court that has not been adjudicated by the Circuit Court. So likely if a Trump appeal is made to the Supreme Court, it too will be dismissed.

 

[herfiehandbag]

Just now, Srikcir said:

The Circuit Court establishes the facts for which it applies the law. But it dismissed the case for lack of "adjudicated" evidence. 

The Appeals court applies the law to review the Circuit Court's ruling. But it can't because the Circuit Court made no adjudication lacking evidence. There is no law to review.

The Supreme Court likewise cannot review a Trump adverse Court of Appeals dismissal by the Circuit Court (ie., agrees with dismissal) if Appeals refuses to adjudicate the Circuit Court's ruling to reject the case for lack of judicial evidence.

You cannot bring new evidence into the Supreme Court that has not been adjudicated by the Circuit Court. So likely if a Trump appeal is made to the Supreme Court, it too will be dismissed.

 

It seems that you have a basic understanding of the legal process.

 

You are a bit ahead of the "elite legal strike force " there!

[JulesMad]

11 hours ago, stevenl said:

So who does trump's, trump's campaign, rnc's legal team consist of now?

trump himself, and his two braincells ????

[Srikcir]

Alan Dersowiitch says the Supreme Court will not take this case (as it was presented in the Circuit Court).

 

 

[candide]

27 minutes ago, Srikcir said:

Alan Dersowiitch says the Supreme Court will not take this case (as it was presented in the Circuit Court).

 

 

And he knows about saving hopeless cases (I.e. Epstein).

[charmonman]

36 minutes ago, candide said:

And he knows about saving hopeless cases (I.e. Epstein).

And he was also one of Trump's lawyers during the impeachment.

[rickudon]

Best comment i saw was that Trump's legal antics over the vote was making the USA look like a Banana republic ....

[J Town]

The fat lady is singing.  It's OVER!

 

We can now breathe easier since the GSA has been given the green light by 45 himself to start the transition.

[Tug]

Imo that judge hit the nail on the head an apt description of trumps leagle antics enough! Let’s get the ship of state back on course kick this pandemic rear end and move forward!

[RocketDog]

This farcical and degrading spectacle will continue until Trump has exhausted all his supporter's donations and the patience of the courts.

 

He's throwing red meat to his inflamed acolytes but he can't change the final outcome,and he knows it. It will be yet another promise made and broken to his base. Like any respectable fading celebrity he should quietly retire to his basement theater and watch re-runs of his glory days at the rallies. 

 

Better just to Stand Back and Standby while the comedy plays out. 

 

These topics have become boring because the usual suspects have largely stopped replying to provide the comic relief that made it entertaining to read. I maintain though that challenging them is becoming too much like mocking disabled folks. 

[onthedarkside]

A trolling post derogatory to all Republicans and numerous ensuing replies have been removed.

 

[ExpatOK]

Review in this case granted:

 

The Third Circuit Court of Appeals granted the Trump campaign's request for an expedited review of a lower court's decision to dismiss a lawsuit over voting in Pennsylvania.

 

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/3rd-circuit-grants-trump-campaign-motion-for-expedited-review

 

Edited November 24, 2020 by ExpatOK

[simple1]

22 hours ago, ExpatOK said:

Review in this case granted:

 

The Third Circuit Court of Appeals granted the Trump campaign's request for an expedited review of a lower court's decision to dismiss a lawsuit over voting in Pennsylvania.

 

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/3rd-circuit-grants-trump-campaign-motion-for-expedited-review

 

 

Democrat Joe Biden was certified Tuesday as winner of the presidential election in Pennsylvania, culminating three weeks of vote counting and a string of failed legal challenges by President Donald Trump.

 

https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-joe-biden-donald-trump-pennsylvania-elections-8a61a1609d7a0d60c1db13fa8e7c3019