Donald Trump speaking to Axios (screen capture) First, the Wisconsin Supreme Court threw out Donald Trump’s election lawsuit today. The response comes just two days after the Donald asked the high court to toss the certification of a contest he lost by nearly 21,000 votes. From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: “In the 4-3 decision, the justices said they would not accept the case he filed directly with them. The president can try to pursue the matter in a lower court, but Thursday’s ruling is a setback that shows he is near the end of the road with his legal challenges in Wisconsin.”
🚨🚨BREAKING: Wisconsin Supreme Court DENIES Trump petition to bring original action to challenge the results of the recount in state Supreme Court.
And then, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court denied Congressman Mike Kelly’s request to declare universal mail-in voting unconstitutional in the state. Kelly and other GOP plaintiffs were asking the high court to either invalidate 2.5 million mail-in votes or to completely erase the 2020 results in the Keystone State and order the GOP-controlled legislature to pick the presidential electors who will vote in the Electoral College. Kelly and company got a one sentence response.
The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania DENIES Rep. Mike Kelly’s request to stay their order refusing to invalidate the election that he won.
Rudy Giuliani at Trump press conference (screen capture) If anyone was wondering why Rudy Giuliani has argued so voraciously on Donald Trump’s behalf regarding the results of the 2020 presidential election, perhaps this is why. The New York Times reports Giuliani has broached the idea of a “pre-emptive pardon” with Trump before the Donald leaves office. From the Times:
It was not clear who raised the topic. The men had also talked previously about a pardon for Mr. Giuliani, according to the people. Mr. Trump has not indicated what he will do, one of the people said.
Mr. Giuliani’s potential criminal exposure is unclear. He was under investigation as recently as this summer by federal prosecutors in Manhattan for his business dealings in Ukraine and his role in ousting the American ambassador there, a plot that was at the heart of the impeachment of Mr. Trump.
Giuliani clapped back at the idea that he’s asked for a pardon on Twitter after the Times posted its report.
#FakeNews NYT lies again. Never had the discussion they falsely attribute to an anonymous source. Hard to keep up with all their lies.
Two sources, my dude, since you didn’t read/comprehend the article. “according to two people *told* of the discussion.” So either you or Trump told 2 people about the conversation. If it didn’t happen then one or both of you were most likely lying.
Trump associates are making appeals to Trump in hopes of obtaining pardons before he leaves office, we’ve confirmed. Those associates include Giuliani, we’re told. Source familiar with the matter said the pardons being sought are “blanket” as associates fear incoming Biden admin.
Arizona has officially certified its results of the 2020 election cycle indicating President-elect Joe Biden won the Grand Canyon State’s 11 electoral votes. The certification also makes it possible for Senator-elect Mark Kelly to be sworn in to the U.S. Senate this week. From CNN:
Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, certified the election results Monday morning, saying the elections process was the most secure in recent history, “despite unfounded claims to the contrary.” The state’s Gov. Doug Ducey and Attorney General Mark Brnovich, along with Arizona Supreme Court Chief Justice Robert Brutinel, witnessed the certification, as required by state law. These three officials are Republicans.
Ducey, who echoed Hobbs’ comments and praised the integrity of Arizona’s election system, also said he would sign official documentation on Monday and have it hand-delivered to the president of the US Senate, so that Kelly “can be sworn in as swiftly as possible.”
More than 3.4 million ballots were cast in Arizona this election cycle indicating a turnout of nearly 80% of eligible voters in the state. The official tally shows Biden beat Donald Trump by 10,457 votes. Donald Trump’s lawyer Jenna Ellis complained on Twitter the certification was ‘rushed’ but it’s been 27 days since Election Day – the exact same length of time as in 2016.
JUST IN: Arizona certifies its 2020 election results, with President-elect Biden winning the state's electoral votes. pic.twitter.com/Hz64xJJn9q
Fox News Channel host Maria Bartiromo began trending on Twitter this morning after allowing Donald Trump to call into her ‘Sunday Morning Futures’ program where he ranted on several baseless claims about the results of the 2020 presidential election without one fact check in sight. As Trump threw blame left and right — at one point suggesting the FBI and Justice Department might be involved in a conspiracy to stop his reelection — Bartiromo sat silently with only an occasional tilt of her head to indicate any sense of journalistic curiosity. The Donald complained about ‘massive dumps’ (poor choice of words considering #DiaperDon recently trended on Twitter) which we can only guess referred to the adding of mail-in ballots in some states that weren’t allowed (by law) to be counted until after the polls closed on Election Day. #MassiveDumps soon began to trend on social media as well. Trump also attacked Dominion Voting Systems saying the machines and software were defective. What he didn’t address, however, is that Dominion systems were used in 24 states during the 2020 election, including states Trump won like Louisiana, Iowa, Missouri, and Ohio. And yet, Trump hasn’t challenged the veracity of the voting there… During one exchange, Bartiromo posited, “If you take out the swing states…” which makes no sense, obviously. We can’t just pretend Nevada, Georgia, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan don’t exist. “So this is no longer about you, President Trump. This is about America and many people agree with you,” Bartiromo actually said out loud.
Maria Bartiromo’s facial expressions as Trump pushes obscene lies about election fraud are priceless pic.twitter.com/xdt5aflm2W
“Look at the election you have coming up [in Georgia] right now. You’re using the same garbage machinery, Dominion” — Trump demoralizes Republicans by suggesting their votes don’t matter because the upcoming Senate runoffs in Georgia are rigged pic.twitter.com/aYM6KcGaos
“If you take out the oxygen atom, is it still water? If you take all the vodka out, is tomato juice still a bloody mary? If I take out 40 years, am I now a teenager? ”
The recount of the presidential vote in Wisconsin – requested and paid for by the Trump campaign to the tune of $3 million – is complete and it appears Joe Biden’s lead increased by 87 votes. From the Washington Post:
The recount of presidential ballots in Wisconsin’s two largest counties finished Sunday, reconfirming that President-elect Joe Biden defeated President Trump in the key swing state by more than 20,000 votes.
After Milwaukee County completed its tally Friday and Dane County concluded its count Sunday, there was little change in the final breakdown of the more than 800,000 ballots that had been cast in the two jurisdictions. As a result of the recount, Biden’s lead over Trump in Wisconsin grew by 87 votes.
“The Wisconsin recount is not about finding mistakes in the count, it is about finding people who have voted illegally, and that case will be brought after the recount is over, on Monday or Tuesday,” tweeted Trump on Saturday as he saw the writing on the wall. “We have found many illegal votes. Stay tuned!”
The Wisconsin recount is not about finding mistakes in the count, it is about finding people who have voted illegally, and that case will be brought after the recount is over, on Monday or Tuesday. We have found many illegal votes. Stay tuned!
JUST IN: The vote recount in Wisconsin has been completed. Joe Biden gained 87 votes in the recount. Donald Trump has become the first president to lose recounts in two different states.
Donald Trump (image via Flickr/WhiteHouse – public domain) Another loss for Team Trump as the Pennsylvania Supreme Court dismissed an election challenge led by U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, who attempted to argue that universal mail-in voting violated the state constitution. From NBC News:
Kelly, along with several other Pennsylvania Republicans, sought to invalidate millions of mail-in votes, which could have ceded a key state won by President-Elect Joe Biden to President Donald Trump.
The ruling said, “Petitioners sought to invalidate the ballots of the millions of Pennsylvania voters who utilized the mail-in voting procedures. … Alternatively, Petitioners advocated the extraordinary proposition that the court disenfranchise all 6.9 million Pennsylvanians who voted in the General Election and instead ‘direct the General Assembly to choose Pennsylvania’s electors.'”
The high court ruled no on all counts and said, “All other outstanding motions are dismissed as moot.” It said the claim could have resulted in the “disenfranchisement” of millions of voters.
The court also criticized Kelly and company for filing their lawsuit more than a year after the law establishing universal mail-in voting was passed by the state legislature. Today’s ruling wipes out a lower court order that had blocked officials from certifying the Keystone State’s election results. More than 26 election challenges filed by Team Trump have now been dismissed by courts in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and elsewhere. So. Much. Winning.
It’s very impressive that it only took ONE WEEK — from the filing of the original suit at the trial court level — for the PA Supreme Court to deal it a death blow.
The PA Supreme Court has just dismissed a case from PA Republicans that claimed mail in voting is unconstitutional (it is not), that those ballots should be thrown out (they will not be) & PA’s certification should be prohibited (it won’t be).
L-R President Donald Trump, former Vice President Joe BidenReuters reports the Trump requested recount in Wisconsin’s largest county concluded on Friday with Democratic President-elect Joe Biden gaining votes. Oops. The recount of nearly 460,000 ballots in Milwaukee County showed Biden gained 257 votes to Trump’s 125, resulting in a net gain of 132 votes for Biden. The unofficial statewide tally shows Biden defeated Trump there by about 20,600 votes. Since a full state-wide recount would cost the Trump campaign $7.9 million, the Donald chose to only recount Dane and Milwaukee counties — home to the cities of Madison and Milwaukee for the discount price of $3 million. Such recounts in the past have rarely changed the eventual results by more than a few hundred votes. Green Party candidate Jill Stein requested a more extensive statewide recount in 2016 and the recount only altered the results by 131 votes (in Trump’s favor).
Milwaukee County concludes its recount of the presidential election — one of two counties where Trump sought a recount in Wisconsin. The results: Biden's lead, currently at about 20,000 statewide, grew by 132 votes.
Donald Trump on 60 Minutes (screen capture) The 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed last weekend’s ruling dismissing the lawsuit brought by Team Trump in Pennsylvania that was argued by Rudy Giuliani. Pennsylvania has already certified its election results which show President-elect Joe Biden won the Keystone State by 81,660 votes. And Trump can’t blame the judge in this new ruling – it was one of his own nominees. The all-GOP panel agreed the case had ‘no merit.’ From the New York Times:
The 21-page ruling by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals was a complete repudiation of Mr. Trump’s effort to halt Pennsylvania’s certification process and a full-throated affirmation of a decision last Saturday by Judge Matthew W. Brann of Federal District Court in Williamsport, Penn., who dealt the Trump campaign its initial defeat in the case.
“Free, fair elections are the lifeblood of our democracy,” Judge Stephanos Bibas, a Trump appointee, wrote on behalf of the appeals court. “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.”
Trump’s lawyers have already announced they plan to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court where Trump believes his 3 handpicked justices would give him a win. BUT – most legal eagles doubt the high court would be willing to take up a case where the evidence is lacking and ultimately won’t change the outcome of the race. Even if SCOTUS were to take the case and rule in Trump’s favor, Biden would still have 286 votes in the Electoral College – far more than the required 270 to win the White House.
As Judge Bibas writes: “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.”
There is no chance SCOTUS will review the suit dismissed by Judge Brann seeking to block Pennsylvania’s certification. The lawyers representing the President are either delusional or intentionally misleading him and his supporters.
The US Court of Appeals has totally destroyed Trump’s claims in Pennsylvania. The opinion, written by Trump appointee Steve Bibas, is devastating. It didn’t even bother holding oral argument, saying the “claims have no merit.”
During his Thanksgiving Day address at the White House on Thursday, Donald Trump told reporters that if the Electoral College confirms president-elect Joe Biden’s victory, “they’ve made a mistake,” but he would give up power and leave the White House. When Reuters White House correspondent Jeff Mason asked to clarify his response in a follow-up question, Trump blew his cool and snapped at Mason, “Don’t talk to me that way – you’re just a lightweight. Don’t talk – I’m the president of the United States. Don’t ever talk to the president that way.” Note – Jeff Mason is no ‘lightweight.’ He’s an experienced journalist and highly regarded in Washington, D.C. Trump did not confirm whether he would attend Biden’s inauguration in January. Experts and officials have said there has been no evidence of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 US elections.
The question that caused Trump to blow a gasket and start yelling at a reporter was will he concede if the Electoral College votes for Joe Biden. pic.twitter.com/jv1eZ0QC4F
Asked if the Electoral College votes for Biden if he will concede, Trump tells press pool in 1st post-election Q&A: “It’s going to be a very hard to thing to concede.”
“If they do, they’ve made a mistake” he says of the Electoral College. Election was 23 days ago. pic.twitter.com/2xkTdNThQ2 — Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) November 26, 2020
“Don’t talk to the president like that” says guy who accused last president of being an illegitimate Kenyan communist plant.
Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudy Guiliani, told Republican lawmakers at a meeting in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, that – in addition to believing Donald Trump won the Keystone State (he didn’t) – Trump “may have actually won Virginia” as well. Trump lost Virginia to Joe Biden by a margin of 451,138 votes. If Team Trump had come within 1 percent of winning in Virginia, don’t you think those results would have been bandied about and challenged publicly these last few weeks??? At the end of the day, Rudy and his team did not present ANY actual evidence of vote tampering or voter fraud. But keep talking Rudy… Bloomberg reporter Josh Wingrove followed the event on Twitter here.
“I think we may have actually won Virginia.” — Rudy Giuliani, as if Biden didn’t win Virginia by nearly half a million votes pic.twitter.com/AMMqzINXhk
