A federal appeals court in Philadelphia on Friday rejected President Trump’s latest bid to challenge the 2020 election results, adding another loss to a string of more than two dozen defeats that has crippled the president’s campaign.
However, if Trump appeals the ruling, the case could go to the U.S. Supreme Court – something his attorneys Jenna Ellis and Rudy Giuliani appeared to welcome.
“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!” Ellis tweeted.
.@RudyGiuliani and me on Third Circuit’s opinion:
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!
— Jenna Ellis (@JennaEllisEsq) November 27, 2020
The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the president’s attorneys were unable to come up with any credible evidence pointing to election fraud and said the campaign’s “claims have no merit.”
“Free, fair elections are the lifeblood of our democracy,” Judge Stephanos Bibas, a Trump appointee, wrote for the three-judge panel. “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 case had been argued in lower court by Giuliani, who claimed during 5 hours of oral arguments that the presidential election had been the victim of massive fraud in Pennsylvania.
Despite the claims, Giuliani did not offer any tangible proof of his allegations in court.
In that hearing, U.S. District Judge Matthew Brann slammed the Trump campaign’s spelling and error-filled complaint, likening it to “Frankenstein’s monster” that had been “haphazardly stitched together.”
Pennsylvania officials certified their vote count for President-elect Joe Biden after he won 80,000 more votes in the state than Trump.
While the president has refused to concede the election, he acknowledged Thursday that he will leave the White House if the Electoral College affirms Joe Biden’s win.
The Electoral College meets Dec.14.
