Trump-Appointed Judge Rejects Effort To Challenge Results: ‘Calling An Election Unfair Does Not Make It So’
On Friday, a federal appeals court in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania rejected President Donald Trump’s latest effort to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, The Associated Press reported.
The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeal said that the Trump legal team’s allegations “have no merit,” suggesting that the commander-in-chief and his allies do not have a case.
Judge Stephanos Bibas, a Trump appointee, stressed in his opinion that the president’s lawyers have provided no evidence whatsoever.
“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.”
The appeal was unanimously rejected by the three-judge panel. All three judges were appointed by Republican presidents.
Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, the former mayor of New York City, initially argued the case in lower courts. However, he failed to provide proof of electoral fraud and his complaint was dismissed by U.S. District Judge Matthew Brann.
Brann rejected Giuliani’s error-filled complaint as “haphazardly stitched together.”
The devastating blow to Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the election came four days after Pennsylvania certified Democrat Joe Biden’s convincing victory.
In a tweet, Trump campaign lawyer Jenna Ellis accused the judges of a cover-up, suggesting that the president is looking to take his cases to the Supreme Court.
“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. On to SCOTUS!” she wrote.
As reported by NBC News, Trump’s lawyers have filed dozens of lawsuits in the battleground states of Georgia, Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona, Minnesota and Nevada. So far, their attempts to challenge the outcome of the presidential race have been stunningly unsuccessful.
Though Trump has refused to concede the race to Biden, he vowed at a press conference on Thursday to leave the White House peacefully. The commander-in-chief admitted that time is running out, but insisted that it would be a “mistake” for the Electoral College to vote for Biden.
“I thought I was going to win it, and essentially I did win it. It’s very very close, it’s very very close,” Trump told a group of reporters, claiming that the voting machines that are used in the United States are vulnerable to cyber attacks. He disputed the legitimacy of Biden’s victory and refused to commit to attending his inauguration, which will take place on January 20 next year.
