In a one-sentence order, the US Supreme Court rebuffs the Trump camp’s attempt to overturn the November 3 Presidential election.
The Court brusquely rejected a request from Donald Trump’s Republican allies in Pennsylvania to toss out Joe Biden’s victory by almost 82,000 votes.
Before the election, Trump set out his plan for the Court to hear his false claims about mail-in ballots if he lost to Biden. He indicated that the rushed confirmation of Justice Amy Coney Barrett was to ensure he had backing for his quest.
But there were no recorded dissents from Tuesday’s order: “The application for injunctive relief presented to Justice Alito and by him referred to the Court is denied.”
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled in late November against the plaintiffs, led by Rep. Mike Kelly, a Republican, on the first ground, saying they could have challenged the 2019 law allowing vote by mail for any reason more than a year ago.
“At the time this action was filed on Nov. 21, 2020, millions of Pennsylvania voters had already expressed their will in both the June 2020 primary election and the November 2020 general election,” the court said. “Petitioners failed to act with due diligence in presenting the instant claim. Equally clear is the substantial prejudice arising from petitioners’ failure to institute promptly a facial challenge to the mail-in voting statutory scheme, as such inaction would result in the disenfranchisement of millions of Pennsylvania voters.”
The plaintiffs had asked the state court to nullify mailed ballots after the fact or to direct the state legislature to pick Pennsylvania’s electors.
Trump Loss Followed by “Craziest Lawsuit”
The Trump camp had lost 46 of 47 lawsuits in key states such as Pennsylvania, Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Nevada before Tuesday’s rejection.
It came two days after Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani, noted for his often bizarre post-election appearances and unsupported claims, tested positive for Coronavirus — and on the same day that fellow Trump lawyer Jenny Ellis, who had declared that an “elite strike force” would win the legal contest, announced she has the virus.
Judge after judge in State and Federal courts has denounced the Trump lawyers for frivolous lawsuits and lack of evidence. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court chided, “The want of due diligence demonstrated in this matter is unmistakable,” and US Federal Appeals Court 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.
Last Friday, Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Brian Hagedorn ruled, “Judicial acquiescence to such entreaties built on so flimsy a foundation would do indelible damage to every future election. This is a dangerous path we are being asked to tread.”
And on Tuesday, following the US Supreme Court’s announcement, the Arizona Supreme Court unanimously said the Trump camp failed “to present any evidence of ‘misconduct,’ ‘illegal votes’ or that the Biden electors ‘did not in fact receive the highest number of votes for office,’ let alone establish any degree of fraud or a sufficient error rate that would undermine the certainty of the election results”.
In a last-ditch effort, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit with the Supreme Court, asking the justices to postpone the December 14 vote of the Electoral College.
Trump won Texas, but Paxton proclaimed that Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin engaged in election irregularities that require investigation. He asked the Supreme Court to “enjoin the use of unlawful election results without review and ratification by the defendant states’ legislatures”.
Legal experts said there was no basis for the filing. Stephen Vladeck, a law professor at the University of Texas, wrote on Twitter.
It looks like we have a new leader in the “craziest lawsuit filed to purportedly challenge the election” category:
The State of Texas is suing Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan, and Wisconsin *directly* in #SCOTUS.
(Spoiler alert: The Court is *never* going to hear this one.) pic.twitter.com/2L4GmdCB6I
— Steve Vladeck (@steve_vladeck) December 8, 2020
The Supreme Court has asked the states sued by Texas to respond by Dec 10th (Thursday): https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/22/22O155/163052/20201208133328638_TX-v-State-MPI-2020-12-07%20FINAL.pdf
Ted Cruz will argue the case. The states violated their own laws, as well as federal law, with last minute changes to mail-in voting that lowered standards and allowed fraud to take place in what is now widely regarded as being a rigged election.
Well, if Ted Cruz is arguing the case, that pretty much seals the deal….