Trump Appeals Rejection of Effort to Block Pennsylvania Vote

In this Friday, Nov. 20, 2020 file photo, President Donald Trump listens during an event in the briefing room of the White House in Washington. A federal judge in Pennsylvania says he won’t stop officials from certifying election results that show Democrat Joe Biden winning the state by more than 80,000 votes. U.S. District Judge Matthew Brann on Saturday, Nov. 21, 2020 turned down the request by President Donald Trump’s campaign as it sought the state’s 20 electoral votes. Those votes still would not have been enough on their own to hand Trump a second term. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

By Associated Press

November 23, 2020

The Trump campaign is asking for an expedited appeal hearing, in an attempt to overturn a lower court ruling before the state certifies election results.

PHILADELPHIA — President Donald Trump is appealing a federal judge’s dismissal of his campaign’s effort to block the certification of votes in Pennsylvania.

The president and other plaintiffs filed notice of appeal to the 3rd US Circuit Court of Appeals on Sunday, a day after the judge issued a scathing order shooting down claims of widespread irregularities with mail-in ballots.

The case was always a long shot to stop President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration, but given Pennsylvania’s 20 electoral votes at stake, it was the campaign’s best hope to affect the election results through the courts. Trump’s personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, appeared in court for the first time in decades to argue the case this past week.

US District Court Judge Matthew Brann wrote in his order that Trump had asked the court to disenfranchise almost 7 million voters. In seeking such a “startling outcome,” he said, a plaintiff could be expected to provide compelling legal arguments and “factual proof of rampant corruption” — but “That has not happened.”

The campaign also filed a motion Sunday night asking for an expedited hearing Wednesday as they seek to amend the Pennsylvania lawsuit that Brann dismissed before the state certifies its election results.