Trump Campaign’s Pennsylvania Lawsuit Fails Again, Court Says Claims ‘Have No Merit’

Topline

A federal appeals court rejected the Trump campaign’s lawsuit contesting Pennsylvania’s election results Friday, saying the campaign’s arguments are “light on facts” and “have no merit,” marking the second time the courts have resoundly rejected the Trump campaign’s central lawsuit in its legal battle challenging Joe Biden’s victory.

Key Facts

The Trump campaign, led by attorney Rudy Giuliani, sued Pennsylvania in a bid to throw out its presidential election results, alleging the state had acted unlawfully because some counties allowed voters to fix their mail-in ballots if they had deficiencies, but other counties did not.

After a federal district court threw out the case, the Trump campaign asked an appeals court to allow the campaign to amend its original lawsuit and issue an injunction to “undo” Pennsylvania’s certification of its presidential election results.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit threw out the case in a scathing 3-0 ruling, saying the Trump campaign “had to plead plausible facts, not just conclusory allegations” and “do more than just allege conclusions” for their case to succeed.

“The Campaign cannot win this lawsuit,” the court noted in its opinion, saying that the campaign’s legal arguments are weak and “cannot succeed.”

The court emphasized that the Trump campaign did not actually allege fraud or provide any evidence of voter fraud in the lawsuit—despite the Trump campaign’s allegations of voter fraud outside of court—and noted “there is no clear evidence of massive absentee-ballot fraud or forgery.”

The number of mail-in ballots affected by the claims in the Trump campaign’s lawsuit is “far smaller” than Biden’s margin of victory, the court notes, and the Trump campaign’s argument that all the election results should be invalidated is “grossly disproportionate” to their actual legal claims.

Crucial Quote

“Free, fair elections are the lifeblood of our democracy. Charges of unfairness are serious. But calling an election unfair does not make it so,” U.S. Circuit Judge Stephanos Bibas, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, wrote in the court’s ruling. “Charges require specific allegations and then proof. We have neither here.”

Chief Critic

“The activist judicial machinery in Pennsylvania continues to cover up the allegations of massive fraud,” Trump campaign legal adviser Jenna Ellis said on Twitter Friday about the ruling, though the campaign’s complaint does not make any allegations of voter fraud and Giuliani said in court the case was “not a fraud case.” (All three judges on the appeals court panel were also appointed by Republican presidents.) Ellis added the Trump campaign would appeal the case to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Key Background

The Pennsylvania lawsuit is the biggest legal challenge the Trump campaign has brought as part of its attempt to challenge Biden’s presidential win through the courts, and is the only litigation that Giuliani is directly involved with. The appeals court ruling came two days after Giuliani and Ellis made repeated claims alleging voter fraud during a committee hearing held by Pennsylvania state lawmakers Wednesday, in which they urged state lawmakers to overthrow the will of the voters and appoint their own electors. The appeals court opposed that strategy in their ruling Friday, saying the campaign “cites no authority for this drastic remedy.” Granting the Trump campaign’s request, the court said, “would disenfranchise those voters or sidestep the expressed will of the people… There is no allegation of fraud (let alone proof) to justify harming those millions of voters as well as other candidates.”

What To Watch For

A second case challenging Pennsylvania’s election results, brought by Republican down-ballot candidates in state court, is still playing out. A lower court issued an order Wednesday that blocked the state from taking further action to certify its results while the case played out in court. That ruling was then paused when the state appealed the order to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, which has yet to rule on the case.

Further Reading

‘Not How The Constitution Works’: Trump Campaign’s Biggest Election Lawsuit Fails In Court (Forbes)

Pennsylvania Court Temporarily Blocks State From Certifying Votes In Response To GOP Challenge (Forbes)

Pennsylvania Certifies Election Results, Cementing Biden’s Victory (Forbes)


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