vox--2020-11-21--A new lawsuit alleges Trump’s effort to overturn Michigan’s election results disenfranchises Black v

A new lawsuit alleges Trump’s effort to overturn Michigan’s election results disenfranchises Black voters

With Michigan ’ s Monday deadline for certifying its election results looming , attempts by President Donald Trump to overturn the outcome in the state has led to a voting rights lawsuit — and could lead to a criminal investigation of officials there .
On Friday , a group of Detroit voters filed a federal lawsuit , alleging that the Trump campaign ’ s legal actions aimed at throwing out some votes in Wayne County , home to Detroit , amounted to a mass disenfranchisement of Black voters .
“ Repeating false claims of voter fraud , which have been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and local officials in Michigan not to count votes from Wayne County , Michigan , ” the lawsuit states .
“ Defendants ’ tactics repeat the worst abuses in our nation ’ s history , as Black Americans were denied a voice in American democracy for most of the first two centuries of the Republic.
” The city of Detroit is nearly 80 percent Black , and overwhelmingly votes Democratic in national elections .
President-elect Joe Biden won Wayne County by about 332,000 votes , and it was critical to his 150,000-vote victory @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was key to Trump ’ s 2016 victory .
Essentially , as Trump ’ s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani said in a Thursday press conference : “ It changes the result of the election in Michigan , if you take out Wayne County.
” To that end , Wayne County ’ s election results have been challenged by the Trump campaign and its loyalists throughout the week .
On Tuesday , the two Republican canvassers on the four-person Wayne County elections board briefly blocked the vote totals from being certified .
As Vox @ @ @ @ @ @ @ these Republican officials ’ “ stated reason was that there were discrepancies between precincts ’ counts of how many named people voted and the actual count of votes .
This is known as precincts being ‘ out of balance.
’ ” And certain precincts in Wayne County were , in fact , out of balance , but usually by no more than four votes — not enough to change the outcome of the election .
Livonia , a majority-white city , was the area most out of balance , with a 27-vote discrepancy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ argued that all Wayne County results should be certified , except for those from Detroit , a situation that would , as Giuliani said , completely change who won the state .
The fact that the votes GOP canvassers hoped to toss out are in a majority-Black area was immediately decried as being illegal and discriminatory — the president of Detroit ’ s NAACP chapter , Wendell Anthony , called Palmer “ a disgrace ” to her face after she suggested doing so .
But it was only part of what triggered the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ do with Trump himself .
Trump is personally spurring on efforts to throw out votes in Michigan Trump praised the efforts of Palmer and William Hartmann , Wayne County ’ s other Republican canvasser , on Twitter Tuesday evening , despite the fact the GOP officials had agreed to certify the results .
Palmer and Hartmann have since requested the certification be rescinded ; it still stands .
Trump ’ s campaign acknowledged this reality on Thursday , when it voluntarily dropped a federal lawsuit aimed at halting the certification of Wayne County @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lawsuits in Pennsylvania , Georgia , and Arizona were thrown out .
The campaign has said that the Michigan suit was dropped because of the actions of the Wayne County officials .
However , the president ’ s efforts to change the election ’ s outcome did not end there : On Friday afternoon , Trump hosted a meeting at the White House with a delegation of four Michigan Republicans .
The meeting was seen as an effort to pressure the lawmakers into using legislative power to ignore the will of voters and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , giving Trump the state ’ s 16 Electoral College votes .
But after that meeting , the state ’ s top Republicans , Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey and House Speaker Lee Chatfield , issued a statement saying they would follow “ the normal process ” for certifying the state ’ s electors .
“ The candidates who win the most votes win elections and Michigan ’ s electoral votes .
These are simple truths that should provide confidence in our elections , ” they said .
That meeting — and the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cited in the Detroit lawsuit , which was brought forth by three Detroit voters and the Michigan Welfare Rights Organization , represented by attorneys from the NAACP Legal Defense Fund .
And the suit is part of a growing wave of concern that the Trump campaign is working to delegitimize Black votes — not only in Detroit , but in other largely Black cities , such as Atlanta , Philadelphia , and Milwaukee , the Washington Post reports .
“ It ’ s as vile now as it was during Reconstruction , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ studies at Emory University , told the Post .
“ It ’ s a very narrow , slippery slope , from saying ‘ illegal votes ’ to ‘ illegal voters , ’ so this attack on Black voters is real.
” Michigan officials ’ interactions with Trump have reportedly also drawn the attention of Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel , who , according to a separate Washington Post report , may open investigations into whether officials ’ efforts to rescind their certification and lawmakers ’ meeting with the president involved any conspiracy , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ state law .
Nessel ’ s office did not comment to the Post on that story .
If her office pursues the matter , officials found to have acted improperly could face criminal charges and penalties including jail time .
Michigan will soon certify its results The contents of Friday ’ s meeting at the White House with Michigan Republicans remains opaque , and White House officials have not commented on what transpired there .
Afterward , however , Senate Majority Leader Shirkey and House Speaker Chatfield issued a statement saying that they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ meeting , and would “ follow the law and follow the normal process regarding Michigan ’ s electors , just as we have said throughout this election.
” This would appear to suggest that the lawmakers do not plan to interfere with Michigan ’ s certification process , which is scheduled for Monday .
Michigan ’ s Republican Party and the Republican National Committee requested on Saturday that process be delayed by two weeks in order to make time for an audit of Wayne County ’ s votes .
It currently seems unlikely @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Michigan ’ s secretary of state had already recommended the results be certified , and canvassers are required to discuss certification on Monday by law .
As Vox ’ s Andrew Prokop has written , the state certification process requires sign-off from a four-person , bipartisan board , similar to the one in Wayne County that had initially deadlocked .
Prokop notes that another deadlock at the state level would “ throw into question the matter of whether Biden will get Michigan ’ s 16 electoral votes , ” but that even if @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s electoral votes , the Trump camp would need to successfully overturn results in at least two other swing states to deprive Biden of his overall victory in the Electoral College .
And while Trump has mounted similar challenges in other states in a seeming attempt to do just that , any certification struggles would almost certainly go to court , Prokop writes .
In Michigan , top officials are largely Democratic , including the secretary of state , Attorney General Nessel , and Gov .
Gretchen Whitmer , all of whom would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to alter the election results .
And while Republicans hold the state legislature , Shirkey and Chatfield , for the moment at least , appear disinclined to aid the president .
Still , given the division of power in the state , and given the lack of precedent for efforts like the president ’ s , exactly what would happen if the state fails to certify on Monday remains unclear .

With Michigan’s Monday deadline for certifying its election results looming, attempts by President Donald Trump to overturn the outcome in the state has led to a voting rights lawsuit — and could lead to a criminal investigation of officials there.
On Friday, a group of Detroit voters filed a federal lawsuit, alleging that the Trump campaign’s legal actions aimed at throwing out some votes in Wayne County, home to Detroit, amounted to a mass disenfranchisement of Black voters.
“Repeating false claims of voter fraud, which have been thoroughly debunked, Defendants are pressuring state and local officials in Michigan not to count votes from Wayne County, Michigan,” the lawsuit states. “Defendants’ tactics repeat the worst abuses in our nation’s history, as Black Americans were denied a voice in American democracy for most of the first two centuries of the Republic.”
The city of Detroit is nearly 80 percent Black, and overwhelmingly votes Democratic in national elections. President-elect Joe Biden won Wayne County by about 332,000 votes, and it was critical to his 150,000-vote victory in Michigan, a battleground state that was key to Trump’s 2016 victory.
Essentially, as Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani said in a Thursday press conference: “It changes the result of the election in Michigan, if you take out Wayne County.”
To that end, Wayne County’s election results have been challenged by the Trump campaign and its loyalists throughout the week.
On Tuesday, the two Republican canvassers on the four-person Wayne County elections board briefly blocked the vote totals from being certified. As Vox’s Andrew Prokop has explained, these Republican officials’ “stated reason was that there were discrepancies between precincts’ counts of how many named people voted and the actual count of votes. This is known as precincts being ‘out of balance.’”
And certain precincts in Wayne County were, in fact, out of balance, but usually by no more than four votes — not enough to change the outcome of the election. Livonia, a majority-white city, was the area most out of balance, with a 27-vote discrepancy. Nevertheless, GOP canvasser Monica Palmer argued that all Wayne County results should be certified, except for those from Detroit, a situation that would, as Giuliani said, completely change who won the state.
The fact that the votes GOP canvassers hoped to toss out are in a majority-Black area was immediately decried as being illegal and discriminatory — the president of Detroit’s NAACP chapter, Wendell Anthony, called Palmer “a disgrace” to her face after she suggested doing so. But it was only part of what triggered the lawsuit. The other part had to do with Trump himself.
Trump is personally spurring on efforts to throw out votes in Michigan
Trump praised the efforts of Palmer and William Hartmann, Wayne County’s other Republican canvasser, on Twitter Tuesday evening, despite the fact the GOP officials had agreed to certify the results. Palmer and Hartmann have since requested the certification be rescinded; it still stands.
Trump’s campaign acknowledged this reality on Thursday, when it voluntarily dropped a federal lawsuit aimed at halting the certification of Wayne County votes. That came after three similar lawsuits in Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Arizona were thrown out. The campaign has said that the Michigan suit was dropped because of the actions of the Wayne County officials.
However, the president’s efforts to change the election’s outcome did not end there: On Friday afternoon, Trump hosted a meeting at the White House with a delegation of four Michigan Republicans. The meeting was seen as an effort to pressure the lawmakers into using legislative power to ignore the will of voters and send pro-Trump electors to the Electoral College, giving Trump the state’s 16 Electoral College votes.
But after that meeting, the state’s top Republicans, Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey and House Speaker Lee Chatfield, issued a statement saying they would follow “the normal process” for certifying the state’s electors.
“The candidates who win the most votes win elections and Michigan’s electoral votes. These are simple truths that should provide confidence in our elections,” they said.
That meeting — and the Wayne County certification incident — were both cited in the Detroit lawsuit, which was brought forth by three Detroit voters and the Michigan Welfare Rights Organization, represented by attorneys from the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.
And the suit is part of a growing wave of concern that the Trump campaign is working to delegitimize Black votes — not only in Detroit, but in other largely Black cities, such as Atlanta, Philadelphia, and Milwaukee, the Washington Post reports.
“It’s as vile now as it was during Reconstruction,” Carol Anderson, professor of African American studies at Emory University, told the Post. “It’s a very narrow, slippery slope, from saying ‘illegal votes’ to ‘illegal voters,’ so this attack on Black voters is real.”
Michigan officials’ interactions with Trump have reportedly also drawn the attention of Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, who, according to a separate Washington Post report, may open investigations into whether officials’ efforts to rescind their certification and lawmakers’ meeting with the president involved any conspiracy, bribery, or perjury that might violate state law.
Nessel’s office did not comment to the Post on that story. If her office pursues the matter, officials found to have acted improperly could face criminal charges and penalties including jail time.
Michigan will soon certify its results
The contents of Friday’s meeting at the White House with Michigan Republicans remains opaque, and White House officials have not commented on what transpired there.
Afterward, however, Senate Majority Leader Shirkey and House Speaker Chatfield issued a statement saying that they had requested coronavirus relief funds at the meeting, and would “follow the law and follow the normal process regarding Michigan’s electors, just as we have said throughout this election.”
This would appear to suggest that the lawmakers do not plan to interfere with Michigan’s certification process, which is scheduled for Monday.
Michigan’s Republican Party and the Republican National Committee requested on Saturday that process be delayed by two weeks in order to make time for an audit of Wayne County’s votes. It currently seems unlikely that this request would be granted — Michigan’s secretary of state had already recommended the results be certified, and canvassers are required to discuss certification on Monday by law.
As Vox’s Andrew Prokop has written, the state certification process requires sign-off from a four-person, bipartisan board, similar to the one in Wayne County that had initially deadlocked.
Prokop notes that another deadlock at the state level would “throw into question the matter of whether Biden will get Michigan’s 16 electoral votes,” but that even if the president were to receive Michigan’s electoral votes, the Trump camp would need to successfully overturn results in at least two other swing states to deprive Biden of his overall victory in the Electoral College.
And while Trump has mounted similar challenges in other states in a seeming attempt to do just that, any certification struggles would almost certainly go to court, Prokop writes. In Michigan, top officials are largely Democratic, including the secretary of state, Attorney General Nessel, and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, all of whom would be expected to fight any last-minute effort to alter the election results. And while Republicans hold the state legislature, Shirkey and Chatfield, for the moment at least, appear disinclined to aid the president.
Still, given the division of power in the state, and given the lack of precedent for efforts like the president’s, exactly what would happen if the state fails to certify on Monday remains unclear.


vox--2020-11-22--Big California donors want to fill Kamala Harris’s Senate seat with a woman of color

Some of California ’ s biggest political donors are urging Gov .
Gavin Newsom to choose a woman of color to fill the seat of Vice President-elect Kamala Harris .
Given how rare it has been for a Senate seat in the country ’ s largest state to become vacant , California leaders have been hard at work trying to lobby Newsom ever since Harris was chosen for the Democratic ticket this summer .
And now the lobbying is becoming more public .
On Monday , about 150 of the state ’ s biggest women donors will ratchet up the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ saying that he should not replace Harris with a white woman , never mind a man .
“ We urge you to continue this Californian tradition by appointing a woman of color to Vice President-elect Harris ’ s US Senate seat , ” the donors write in the letter , which will appear as a full-page ad in the state ’ s two largest newspapers , the Los Angeles Times and the San Francisco Chronicle , and was shared early with Recode .
“ Women of color are the core drivers of electoral @ @ @ @ @ @ @ voices should be heard in the nation ’ s highest governing body .
California is fortunate to have a strong pipeline of women of color in elected office who are prepared to serve ; as Californians and political supporters , we look forward to you selecting one of them.
” Signatories of the letter — which is officially authored by two donor groups , Electing Women Bay Area and the Los Angeles Women ’ s Collective — include Silicon Valley psychiatrist Karla Jurvetson , one of the country ’ s biggest Democratic donors @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on-the-rise Democratic fundraiser ; Susan Pritzker , a scion of the famous hotel family that has bankrolled Newsom ’ s ambitions for years ; and Dagmar Dolby , the billionaire philanthropist .
The decision before Newsom could be one of the politically diciest of his governorship .
Newsom is also under pressure from Latino groups to name California ’ s first Hispanic senator , and Alex Padilla , California ’ s secretary of state , who is Hispanic , is considered a top contender , in part because he is personally close with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ California Attorney General Xavier Becerra .
There are several woman of color who are believed to be competitors with Padilla , including Karen Bass , a Los Angeles congresswoman who is Black and was a finalist to be Joe Biden ’ s vice-presidential selection ; and Barbara Lee , a Black congresswoman from Oakland known for her anti-war stance .
Senate seats in California don ’ t come up that often .
Harris ’ s counterpart in the Senate , Dianne Feinstein , has held her seat for almost 30 years .
Harris @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sat in hers for 25 .
So Newsom is likely staring down a decision that will well outlast him .
Last month , Newsom lamented about “ the stress of having to choose between a lot of friends , to choose between quality candidates — and the fact that whoever you pick , there are going to be a lot of people who are going to be upset .
”

Some of California’s biggest political donors are urging Gov. Gavin Newsom to choose a woman of color to fill the seat of Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.
Given how rare it has been for a Senate seat in the country’s largest state to become vacant, California leaders have been hard at work trying to lobby Newsom ever since Harris was chosen for the Democratic ticket this summer. And now the lobbying is becoming more public.
On Monday, about 150 of the state’s biggest women donors will ratchet up the pressure with a public letter to Newsom saying that he should not replace Harris with a white woman, never mind a man.
“We urge you to continue this Californian tradition by appointing a woman of color to Vice President-elect Harris’s US Senate seat,” the donors write in the letter, which will appear as a full-page ad in the state’s two largest newspapers, the Los Angeles Times and the San Francisco Chronicle, and was shared early with Recode. “Women of color are the core drivers of electoral progress in our country, and their voices should be heard in the nation’s highest governing body. California is fortunate to have a strong pipeline of women of color in elected office who are prepared to serve; as Californians and political supporters, we look forward to you selecting one of them.”
Signatories of the letter — which is officially authored by two donor groups, Electing Women Bay Area and the Los Angeles Women’s Collective — include Silicon Valley psychiatrist Karla Jurvetson, one of the country’s biggest Democratic donors; Gretchen Sisson, a sociologist and on-the-rise Democratic fundraiser; Susan Pritzker, a scion of the famous hotel family that has bankrolled Newsom’s ambitions for years; and Dagmar Dolby, the billionaire philanthropist.
The decision before Newsom could be one of the politically diciest of his governorship. Newsom is also under pressure from Latino groups to name California’s first Hispanic senator, and Alex Padilla, California’s secretary of state, who is Hispanic, is considered a top contender, in part because he is personally close with Newsom. Another possible Latino choice is California Attorney General Xavier Becerra.
There are several women of color who are believed to be competitors with Padilla, including Karen Bass, a Los Angeles Congress member who is Black and was a finalist to be Joe Biden’s vice-presidential selection; and Barbara Lee, a Black Congress member from Oakland known for her anti-war stance.
Senate seats in California don’t come up that often. Harris’s counterpart in the Senate, Dianne Feinstein, has held her seat for almost 30 years. Harris’s predecessor, Barbara Boxer, sat in hers for 25. So Newsom is likely staring down a decision that will well outlast him.
Last month, Newsom lamented about “the stress of having to choose between a lot of friends, to choose between quality candidates — and the fact that whoever you pick, there are going to be a lot of people who are going to be upset.”


vox--2020-11-22--Trump lashes out at fellow Republicans as his legal challenges to election results fail

President Donald Trump battled members of his own party this weekend , as his critics — and even some allies — called upon him to accept the results of the presidential election .
Following his loss of a major lawsuit seeking to overturn Pennsylvania ’ s results on Saturday , several prominent Republican leaders gave interviews on Sunday suggesting that it was time for Trump to consider conceding .
Maryland Gov .
Larry Hogan , who has been critical of Trump in the past , said on CNN ’ s State of the Union that Trump ’ s behavior has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ most respected country with respect to elections , ” Hogan said .
“ And now , we ’ re beginning to look like we ’ re a banana republic .
It ’ s time for them to stop the nonsense .
It just gets more bizarre every single day.
” Also on State of the Union on Sunday , John Bolton — the former White House national security adviser who was ousted acrimoniously in September 2019 — called Trump ’ s behavior “ inexcusable ” and likened it to “ throwing rocks through @ @ @ @ @ @ @ our leaders to come out and say , ‘ The election is over , ’ ” he said .
“ We ’ re not talking about an abstract right for Trump to use his legal remedies .
We ’ ve passed that.
” Trump ’ s campaign team has given no indication that he plans to declare the election over , despite the fact that President-elect Joe Biden won the race more than two weeks ago .
And Trump summed up his current stance on the matter Saturday , tweeting , “ Hopefully @ @ @ @ @ @ @ COURAGE to do what has to be done to maintain the integrity of our Elections , and the United States of America itself.
” But there is no legal basis for election results to be overturned .
No widespread voting fraud has been revealed , and the president ’ s claims that there were improprieties with vote counting have been debunked as he has raised them .
Some close states , like Georgia , recounted ballots by hand — and after doing so , found the recount did not alter the results .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ will not accept this fact , and has attacked anyone — be they members of his party or not — who suggests he should .
Sunday , Trump took to Twitter to lash out at Hogan , who earned Trump ’ s ire earlier this year when he criticized the president ’ s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic , for his remarks on CNN .
Trump called Hogan a Republican-in-name-only , or RINO — a term he commonly uses for Republicans who disagree with him — and shared an article from the right-wing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fumbled his own coronavirus response .
Hogan responded on Twitter , and , referring to the fact the president has spent much of the weekend on his Virginia golf course , suggested Trump “ Stop golfing and concede.
” Trump lobbed the same insult at Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger on Friday , after he certified that Biden won the state , while also attacking Georgia ’ s Republican Gov .
Brian Kemp .
“ Georgia Secretary of State , a so-called Republican ( RINO ) , won ’ t let the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for fraud , ” Trump tweeted Friday .
“ Everyone knows that we won the state .
Where is @ BrianKempGA ?
” Attacks like these are hurting party unity — as Politico reports , some fear they could cost the GOP elections in the future by inviting primary challenges to candidates like Kemp and by encouraging further infighting .
At the moment , Trump seems disinclined to stop these attacks — but both Hogan and Bolton encouraged fellow Republicans to ignore them , and to join them in calling on Trump to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more who come out and say , ‘ He doesn ’ t represent us — he is not following a Republican game plan here , ’ the safer they will be , ” said Bolton .
Few Republicans in office are speaking out against Trump For the most part , it appears that GOP leaders aren ’ t heeding Bolton ’ s advice .
Sen. Lamar Alexander ( R-LA ) , for instance , said it still only “ looks like [ Biden ] has a very good chance ” of being the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ R-OH ) has called for investigations into election irregularities that do not exist .
Raffensperger claimed Sen. Lindsey Graham ( R-SC ) tried to pressure him into illegally discarding ballots .
And congressional leaders have largely been silent ; Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell , for instance , said recently that he believes that questions over the election will resolve themselves thanks to “ the process ” and “ our system.
” However , following Trump ’ s loss in Pennsylvania Saturday , there was a slight shift in tone among certain allies @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of several Trump has faced in his attempts to legally challenge the results of the presidential election .
But it may have been the most resounding .
As Vox ’ s Ian Millhiser has explained , the judge in that case , US District Court Judge Matthew Brann , “ didn ’ t just reject the Trump campaign ’ s legal arguments , he mocked the campaign for its inability to present a coherent argument — or to provide any legal support whatsoever for crucial elements of their claims.
” “ One might @ @ @ @ @ @ @ outcome , a plaintiff would come formidably armed with compelling legal arguments and factual proof of rampant corruption , ” Brann wrote in his decision .
“ That has not happened.
” As a result of that decision , retiring Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey , a Republican , said on Saturday that “ President Trump has exhausted all plausible legal options to challenge the result of the presidential race in Pennsylvania , ” and congratulated Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on their victory .
Many Republicans were asked about Toomey ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ former New Jersey Gov .
Chris Christie , who responded by calling Trump ’ s legal team “ a national embarrassment ” on ABC ’ s This Week .
“ They allege fraud outside the courtroom , but when they go inside the courtroom , they don ’ t plead fraud and they don ’ t argue fraud , ” he said .
Christie , however , stopped short of criticizing the president directly .
“ I ’ ve been a supporter of the president .
I voted for him twice , but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not continue to act as if something happened here that didn ’ t happen , ” he said .
“ You have an obligation to present the evidence .
The evidence has not been presented.
” When asked about Toomey ’ s statement on Meet the Press , Sen. Kevin Cramer ( R-ND ) attempted to thread the needle of calling for a transition of power to Biden while supporting Trump ’ s efforts to challenge those results .
“ Everyone ought to just relax and let it play out in the legal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ adding that Trump is “ just exercising his legal options.
” Cramer added , however , that there should eventually be an end to those challenges , and that it ’ s “ past time ” for the Biden transition to begin .
Cramer is correct that all Americans have the option of bringing lawsuits — but filing baseless ones like Trump ’ s is something not smiled upon by the court system .
And efforts like Cramer ’ s to legitimize Trump ’ s actions ignore the reality that the clock is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ otherwise , to alter the election ’ s results .
Key states have begun the process of certifying their results .
Georgia did so Friday , and as Michigan Rep. Fred Upton highlighted Sunday on CNN ’ s Inside Politics , Michigan is set to on Monday .
Upton noted that all Michigan counties had certified their results , and that its 154,000-vote margin in favor of Biden would stand .
“ The voters have spoken , ” he said .
“ No one has come up with any evidence of fraud or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not the politicians , speak.
” And legislators in the state have suggested that they have no plans to attempt to block or overturn that certification when it comes .
All this means that , whether it ’ s on December 8 , the federal deadline for states to certify their results ; on December 14 , when the Electoral College votes ; or on January 20 , when Biden will be sworn in , Republicans will have to admit that Trump will not have a second term .
But Trump himself has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ever back down from challenging the election ’ s results .
For now , a recount remains underway in Wisconsin , a second recount has been ordered in Georgia , and challenges in Arizona and Nevada are ongoing .

President Donald Trump battled members of his own party this weekend, as his critics — and even some allies — called upon him to accept the results of the presidential election.
Following his loss on Saturday of a major lawsuit seeking to overturn Pennsylvania’s results, several prominent Republican leaders gave interviews on Sunday suggesting that it was time for Trump to consider conceding.
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, who has been critical of Trump in the past, said on CNN’s State of the Union that Trump’s behavior has been embarrassing.
“We were the most respected country with respect to elections,” Hogan said. “And now, we’re beginning to look like we’re a banana republic. It’s time for them to stop the nonsense. It just gets more bizarre every single day.”
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, says he is "embarrassed that more people in the party aren't speaking up" regarding President Trumps' refusal to concede https://t.co/jw5Aybp5N5 #CNNSOTU pic.twitter.com/wFNFsPP7bJ — State of the Union (@CNNSotu) November 22, 2020
Also on State of the Union on Sunday, John Bolton — the former White House national security adviser who was ousted acrimoniously in September 2019 — called Trump’s behavior “inexcusable” and likened it to “throwing rocks through windows.”
“We need all of our leaders to come out and say, ‘The election is over,’” he said. “We’re not talking about an abstract right for Trump to use his legal remedies. We’ve passed that.”
Trump’s campaign team has given no indication that he plans to declare the election over, despite the fact that President-elect Joe Biden won the race more than two weeks ago. And Trump summed up his current stance on the matter Saturday, tweeting, “Hopefully the Courts and/or Legislatures will have the COURAGE to do what has to be done to maintain the integrity of our Elections, and the United States of America itself.”
But there is no legal basis for election results to be overturned. No widespread voting fraud has been revealed, and the president’s claims that there were improprieties with vote counting have been debunked as he has raised them. Some close states, like Georgia, recounted ballots by hand — and after doing so, found the recount did not alter the results.
Trump has made it clear that he will not accept this fact, and has attacked anyone — be they members of his party or not — who suggests he should.
Sunday, Trump took to Twitter to lash out at Hogan, who earned Trump’s ire earlier this year when he criticized the president’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, for his remarks on CNN.
Trump called Hogan a Republican-in-name-only, or RINO — a term he commonly uses for Republicans who disagree with him — and shared an article from the right-wing news site Breitbart suggesting that Hogan had fumbled his own coronavirus response.
Hogan responded on Twitter, and, referring to the fact the president has spent much of the weekend on his Virginia golf course, suggested Trump “Stop golfing and concede.”
If you had done your job, America's governors wouldn't have been forced to fend for themselves to find tests in the middle of a pandemic, as we successfully did in Maryland.
Stop golfing and concede. https://t.co/tCXO8etxge — Governor Larry Hogan (@GovLarryHogan) November 22, 2020
Trump lobbed the same RINO insult at Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger on Friday after Raffensperger certified that Biden won the state, while also attacking Georgia’s Republican Gov. Brian Kemp.
“Georgia Secretary of State, a so-called Republican (RINO), won’t let the people checking the ballots see the signatures for fraud,” Trump tweeted Friday. “Everyone knows that we won the state. Where is @BrianKempGA?”
Attacks like these are hurting party unity — as Politico reports, some fear they could cost the GOP elections in the future by inviting primary challenges to candidates like Kemp and by encouraging further infighting.
At the moment, Trump seems disinclined to stop these attacks, but both Hogan and Bolton encouraged fellow Republicans to ignore Trump and to join them in calling on him to accept the election results.
“The more who come out and say, ‘He doesn’t represent us — he is not following a Republican game plan here,’ the safer they will be,” said Bolton.
Few Republicans in office are speaking out against Trump
For the most part, it appears that GOP leaders aren’t heeding Bolton’s advice.
Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-LA), for instance, said it still only “looks like [Biden] has a very good chance” of being the next president. Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) has called for investigations into election irregularities that do not exist. Raffensperger claimed Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) tried to pressure him into illegally discarding ballots. And congressional leaders have largely been silent; Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, for instance, said recently that he believes that questions over the election will resolve themselves thanks to “the process” and “our system.”
However, following Trump’s loss in Pennsylvania Saturday, there was a slight shift in tone among certain allies.
That defeat was the most recent of several Trump has faced in his attempts to legally challenge the results of the presidential election. But it may have been the most resounding. As Vox’s Ian Millhiser has explained, the judge in that case, US District Court Judge Matthew Brann, “didn’t just reject the Trump campaign’s legal arguments, he mocked the campaign for its inability to present a coherent argument — or to provide any legal support whatsoever for crucial elements of their claims.”
“One might expect that when seeking such a startling outcome, a plaintiff would come formidably armed with compelling legal arguments and factual proof of rampant corruption,” Brann wrote in his decision. “That has not happened.”
As a result of that decision, retiring Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey, a Republican, said on Saturday that “President Trump has exhausted all plausible legal options to challenge the result of the presidential race in Pennsylvania,” and congratulated Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on their victory.
Many Republicans were asked about Toomey’s statement Sunday, including on-again-off-again Trump ally former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who responded by calling Trump’s legal team “a national embarrassment” on ABC’s This Week.
“They allege fraud outside the courtroom, but when they go inside the courtroom, they don’t plead fraud and they don’t argue fraud,” he said.
“Yes,” Chris Christie tells @GStephanopoulos when asked if it’s time for President Trump to stop challenging the 2020 election results, adding that the president’s legal team has been a “national embarrassment.” https://t.co/9HKDetYpa5 pic.twitter.com/zuGivUyqYo — This Week (@ThisWeekABC) November 22, 2020
Christie, however, stopped short of criticizing the president directly.
“I’ve been a supporter of the president. I voted for him twice, but elections have consequences, and we cannot continue to act as if something happened here that didn’t happen,” he said. “You have an obligation to present the evidence. The evidence has not been presented.”
When asked about Toomey’s statement on Meet the Press, Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) attempted to thread the needle of calling for a transition of power to Biden while supporting Trump’s efforts to challenge those results.
“Everyone ought to just relax and let it play out in the legal way,” Cramer said, misleadingly adding that Trump is “just exercising his legal options.”
Cramer added, however, that there should eventually be an end to those challenges, and that it’s “past time” for the Biden transition to begin.
Cramer is correct that all Americans have the option of bringing lawsuits — but filing baseless ones like Trump’s is something not smiled upon by the court system. And efforts like Cramer’s to legitimize Trump’s actions ignore the reality that the clock is ticking on any scheme, legitimate or otherwise, to alter the election’s results.
Key states have begun the process of certifying their results. Georgia did so Friday, and as Michigan Rep. Fred Upton highlighted Sunday on CNN’s Inside Politics, Michigan is set to on Monday.
Upton noted that all Michigan counties had certified their results, and that its 154,000-vote margin in favor of Biden would stand.
“The voters have spoken,” he said. “No one has come up with any evidence of fraud or abuse. … Let the voters, not the politicians, speak.”
And legislators in the state have suggested that they have no plans to attempt to block or overturn that certification when it comes.
All this means that, whether it’s on December 8, the federal deadline for states to certify their results; on December 14, when the Electoral College votes; or on January 20, when Biden will be sworn in, Republicans will have to admit that Trump will not have a second term.
But Trump himself has not signaled when or if he will ever back down from challenging the election’s results. For now, a recount remains underway in Wisconsin, a second recount has been ordered in Georgia, and challenges in Arizona and Nevada are ongoing.


vox--2020-11-22--The FDA authorized the use of an experimental antibody treatment for Covid-19

Evidence-based explanations of the coronavirus crisis , from how it started to how it might end to how to protect yourself and others .
Amid record levels of new Covid-19 infections and hospitalizations , the Food and Drug Administration announced Saturday that it would allow emergency use of an antibody drug treatment known as REGN-COV2 that helps immune systems fight the virus .
The treatment , developed by the biotech company Regeneron , consists of two antibodies , called casirivimab and imdevimab , that have shown promising results in reducing the severity of the coronavirus when given to patients who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Another similar treatment , made by drug giant Eli Lilly , was approved earlier this month .
The Regeneron treatment received widespread attention after it was used to treat President Donald Trump during his bout with the virus in October .
In a video released on October 7 , Trump claimed — without evidence — that the treatment had cured him , and said his administration was working on an emergency use authorization ( EUA ) .
Trump also appeared to claim , falsely , that he had already authorized it for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ authority to authorize drugs .
At the time , some doctors and experts took to Twitter to question why the president ’ s doctors would give him a treatment not yet approved by the FDA .
As Vox ’ s Julia Belluz explained , “ Trump was only able to access the treatment through the FDA ’ s ‘ compassionate use ’ provision , whereby unapproved drugs are administered to seriously ill patients who have no other treatment options on a case-by-case basis.
” The antibody cocktail ’ s new FDA approval means @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to a wider number of people , including those who would not have qualified for compassionate use .
And it comes following pressure from several Trump administration officials , including White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and presidential adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner , who publicly pushed FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn for quick agency reviews .
However , the treatment won ’ t be widely available immediately : According to Regeneron , the company will have enough of the treatment for 80,000 people by the end of November , 200,000 by early @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of January .
A partnership with Swiss drug manufacturer Roche will allow for ramped-up production after that .
Whether that will be enough doses to meet demand remains to be seen .
The US is in the midst of a record-breaking spate of cases , with more than 1 million new Covid-19 cases having been diagnosed in the past week .
Record numbers of new daily confirmed cases are being broken regularly , and hospitals are increasingly in danger of being overwhelmed .
The FDA has recommended the cocktail be used only in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ those who are 12 years old or above and are at increased risk for developing severe cases of Covid-19 should be given the treatment .
And according to Regeneron , the results of two trials show that the treatment works when given early on in a patient ’ s treatment process , before they have developed serious symptoms .
The FDA also stated that the antibodies are not authorized for anyone who has become hospitalized or needs oxygen ; Regeneron has said studies are continuing to better understand the treatment ’ s effects @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more than $ 500 million from the US government for development of the treatment as part of the Trump administration ’ s Operation Warp Speed , and because of that funding , the first 300,000 doses are supposed to be provided free of cost .
Patients will still be responsible for paying for administration of the treatment — the antibodies are delivered via an IV , meaning the treatment will need to be done by medical professionals at hospitals or clinics .
The benefits of Regeneron ’ s REGN-COV2 still aren ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ possible Covid-19 vaccines have gotten a lot of attention recently .
Pfizer , creator of one of the vaccines , said it recently wrapped up its clinical trial successfully , and submitted an application for emergency approval from the FDA on Friday , while another company , Moderna , said it would be applying soon .
Health officials had hoped that antibody treatments like Regeneron ’ s would help address cases in the time before vaccines become widely available .
Regeneron ’ s antibody cocktail is just one of several experimental treatments for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ plasma , which is taken from people who were infected with the virus but later recovered , as Vox ’ s Umair Irfan explained : These treatments are still being investigated , including Regeneron ’ s REGN-COV2 .
As Irfan has explained : In practice , this means the FDA isn ’ t completely sure Regeneron ’ s treatment works , but in its announcement , the FDA said it “ has determined that it is reasonable to believe that casirivimab and imdevimab administered together may be effective in treating patients with mild @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the treatment for its EUA , Regeneron said it planned to continue trials that included a variety of hospitalized and nonhospitalized individuals .
This uncertainty has led some health experts to express concern about the fast-tracking process for approval of potential viral treatments .
In September , the National Institutes of Health criticized the FDA ’ s emergency authorization for convalescent plasma , saying , “ There are insufficient data to recommend either for or against the use of convalescent plasma.
” At the moment , peer reviewed research hasn ’ t yet @ @ @ @ @ @ @ treatment , so experts can only go by data presented in company press releases purporting to show the treatment works .
The FDA believes it has seen enough to allow its use , however , giving doctors one more option to consider as cases rise .

Amid record levels of new Covid-19 infections and hospitalizations, the Food and Drug Administration announced Saturday that it would allow emergency use of an antibody drug treatment known as REGN-COV2 that helps immune systems fight the virus.
The treatment, developed by the biotech company Regeneron, consists of two antibodies, called casirivimab and imdevimab, that have shown promising results in reducing the severity of the coronavirus when given to patients who have not yet developed symptoms requiring hospitalization. Another similar treatment, made by drug giant Eli Lilly, was approved earlier this month.
The Regeneron treatment received widespread attention after it was used to treat President Donald Trump during his bout with the virus in October. In a video released on October 7, Trump claimed — without evidence — that the treatment had cured him, and said his administration was working on an emergency use authorization (EUA). Trump also appeared to claim, falsely, that he had already authorized it for use, even though he has no authority to authorize drugs.
A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT! pic.twitter.com/uhLIcknAjT — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 7, 2020
At the time, some doctors and experts took to Twitter to question why the president’s doctors would give him a treatment not yet approved by the FDA. As Vox’s Julia Belluz explained, “Trump was only able to access the treatment through the FDA’s ‘compassionate use’ provision, whereby unapproved drugs are administered to seriously ill patients who have no other treatment options on a case-by-case basis.”
The antibody cocktail’s new FDA approval means that it will be available for use to a wider number of people, including those who would not have qualified for compassionate use. And it comes following pressure from several Trump administration officials, including White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and presidential adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner, who publicly pushed FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn for quick agency reviews.
However, the treatment won’t be widely available immediately: According to Regeneron, the company will have enough of the treatment for 80,000 people by the end of November, 200,000 by early January, and 300,000 by the end of January. A partnership with Swiss drug manufacturer Roche will allow for ramped-up production after that.
Whether that will be enough doses to meet demand remains to be seen. The US is in the midst of a record-breaking spate of cases, with more than 1 million new Covid-19 cases having been diagnosed in the past week. Record numbers of new daily confirmed cases are being broken regularly, and hospitals are increasingly in danger of being overwhelmed.
The FDA has recommended the cocktail be used only in certain circumstances. The agency says only those who are 12 years old or above and are at increased risk for developing severe cases of Covid-19 should be given the treatment.
And according to Regeneron, the results of two trials show that the treatment works when given early on in a patient’s treatment process, before they have developed serious symptoms. The FDA also stated that the antibodies are not authorized for anyone who has become hospitalized or needs oxygen; Regeneron has said studies are continuing to better understand the treatment’s effects on hospitalized patients.
The company received more than $500 million from the US government for development of the treatment as part of the Trump administration’s Operation Warp Speed, and because of that funding, the first 300,000 doses are supposed to be provided free of cost. Patients will still be responsible for paying for administration of the treatment — the antibodies are delivered via an IV, meaning the treatment will need to be done by medical professionals at hospitals or clinics.
The benefits of Regeneron’s REGN-COV2 still aren’t proven
The emergency approval comes as two possible Covid-19 vaccines have gotten a lot of attention recently. Pfizer, creator of one of the vaccines, said it recently wrapped up its clinical trial successfully, and submitted an application for emergency approval from the FDA on Friday, while another company, Moderna, said it would be applying soon. Health officials had hoped that antibody treatments like Regeneron’s would help address cases in the time before vaccines become widely available.
Regeneron’s antibody cocktail is just one of several experimental treatments for Covid-19. There’s also convalescent plasma, which is taken from people who were infected with the virus but later recovered, as Vox’s Umair Irfan explained:
Plasma is the liquid part of blood, including proteins used for clotting, and when harvested from convalescents, it contains antibodies to the virus. So transfusing plasma from someone who recovered to someone who is sick could help them get better, or prevent them from getting sick in the first place.
These treatments are still being investigated, including Regeneron’s REGN-COV2. As Irfan has explained:
The FDA can grant an EUA to allow unapproved medical products to treat or prevent serious diseases when there are no adequate alternatives on the market. The benchmark for an EUA is lower than it is for full approval of licensure. In general, the treatment in question has to have a likely benefit, whereas approval demands evidence of a proven benefit.
In practice, this means the FDA isn’t completely sure Regeneron’s treatment works, but in its announcement, the FDA said it “has determined that it is reasonable to believe that casirivimab and imdevimab administered together may be effective in treating patients with mild or moderate COVID-19.” Ahead of submitting the treatment for its EUA, Regeneron said it planned to continue trials that included a variety of hospitalized and nonhospitalized individuals.
This uncertainty has led some health experts to express concern about the fast-tracking process for approval of potential viral treatments. In September, the National Institutes of Health criticized the FDA’s emergency authorization for convalescent plasma, saying, “There are insufficient data to recommend either for or against the use of convalescent plasma.”
At the moment, peer reviewed research hasn’t yet been published on Regeneron’s antibody treatment, so experts can only go by data presented in company press releases purporting to show the treatment works. The FDA believes it has seen enough to allow its use, however, giving doctors one more option to consider as cases rise.


vox--2020-11-22--A Republican judge just tore into Trump’s election lawyers for their incompetence

Last Tuesday , former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani appeared in federal court for the first time in 30 years , representing the Trump campaign in its efforts to prevent Pennsylvania from certifying President-elect Joe Biden ’ s victory in that state .
It was a disaster for Giuliani .
The one-time mayor and senior federal prosecutor struggled to articulate what , exactly , was the basis of Trump ’ s legal claims .
And he admitted that he was unfamiliar with basic legal terms such as “ strict scrutiny , ” one of the rudimentary vocabulary terms taught @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to constitutional law .
On Saturday evening , Judge Matthew Brann released his opinion in this suit , Donald J. Trump for President v. Boockvar , and the judge did not pull punches .
Brann didn ’ t just reject the Trump campaign ’ s legal arguments , he mocked the campaign for its inability to present a coherent argument — or to provide any legal support whatsoever for crucial elements of their claims .
Referring to the Trump campaign ’ s primary legal argument , Brann writes that “ this claim , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been haphazardly stitched together from two distinct theories in an attempt to avoid controlling precedent.
” And that ’ s just one of many scathing lines from a judge who is clearly frustrated with the incompetent lawyering on display in his courtroom .
It ’ s worth noting that , while Brann was appointed to the federal bench by Democratic President Barack Obama , the judge held multiple leadership positions within the Republican Party .
Obama frequently had to strike deals with Republican senators to appoint GOP judges , in order to prevent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ other nominees .
Indeed , one person who appears particularly impressed with Brann ’ s conservative street cred is Sen. Pat Toomey ( R-PA ) , who released a statement shortly after Brann ’ s decision was handed down congratulating President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris .
“ With today ’ s decision by Judge Matthew Brann , a longtime conservative Republican whom I know to be a fair and unbiased jurist , to dismiss the Trump campaign ’ s lawsuit , ” Toomey said in his statement , “ President Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ challenge the result of the presidential race in Pennsylvania.
” Trump could potentially appeal Brann ’ s decision , and claims that he will .
But , given the weakness of his campaign ’ s arguments , which Brann repeatedly points out , such an appeal is unlikely to prevail .
The Trump campaign ’ s main argument challenges an email that Pennsylvania Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar sent to county-level voting officials , encouraging those officials to “ provide information to party and candidate representatives during the pre-canvass that identifies the voters @ @ @ @ @ @ @ so that those voters can be notified that they made an error while submitting those ballots , and will have the opportunity to cure that error .
As it turns out , not all counties took this advice .
The Trump campaign claims that Philadelphia , a Democratic stronghold , notified voters that they needed to cure errors in their absentee ballots , while county officials in Republican-leaning counties did not .
Thus , the campaign claims , absentee ballots cast in Biden-friendly Philadelphia were more likely to be counted than ballots cast @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — and this discrepancy amounts to unconstitutional discrimination .
But the campaign seeks an extreme remedy for this alleged violation : It asked Judge Brann to forbid the state from certifying the results of its 2020 election .
Because some small number of Trump voters allegedly had a harder time voting than some Biden voters , the Trump campaign effectively asks Brann to disenfranchise the entire state of Pennsylvania —something Brann explicitly refuses to do .
As Brann writes , “ Prohibiting certification of the election results would not reinstate the Individual Plaintiffs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ simply deny more than 6.8 million people their right to vote.
” If the Trump campaign was correct that Pennsylvania violated the Constitution by only notifying some voters of the need to cure errors in their absentee ballots , then the proper remedy is to give all voters who needed to cure their ballots an opportunity to do so .
It ’ s not to disenfranchise millions .
“ The answer to invalidated ballots , ” Brann writes , “ is not to invalidate millions more.
” Judicial opinions are typically staid documents @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — both as a professional courtesy and because judges typically want to avoid giving the impression that their disregard for a particular lawyer may have influenced their decision .
But Judge Brann clearly believes that Trump ’ s lawyers behaved egregiously in his courtroom , and that this conduct is worth noting repeatedly in his opinion .
Early in his opinion , Brann summarizes the lawsuit in ten damning words : “ Plaintiffs ask this Court to disenfranchise almost seven million voters.
” The mere fact that Trump ’ s lawyers would even @ @ @ @ @ @ @ As Brann notes , “ this Court has been unable to find any case in which a plaintiff has sought such a drastic remedy in the contest of an election , in terms of the sheer volume of votes asked to be invalidated.
” And yet , Trump ’ s lawyers did not come to court with any evidence or legal authorities that could justify such a result .
“ One might expect that when seeking such a startling outcome , a plaintiff would come formidably armed with compelling legal arguments and factual @ @ @ @ @ @ @ writes .
But “ that has not happened .
Instead , this Court has been presented with strained legal arguments without merit and speculative accusations , unpled in the operative complaint and unsupported by evidence.
” Brann also spends an entire section of his opinion describing the game of musical chairs that Trump ’ s lawyers appeared to play while they were actively litigating the Boockvar case .
“ Plaintiffs have made multiple attempts at amending the pleadings , and have had attorneys both appear and withdraw in a matter of seventy-two hours @ @ @ @ @ @ @ eve of oral arguments , Trump attempted to replace his entire legal team .
Giuliani was added to the team on the same day as the hearing where the former New York City mayor appeared unfamiliar with basic aspects of the case .
At other points in his opinion , Brann calls out the Trump legal team ’ s inability to explain essential parts of their legal argument .
In order to bring a case in federal court , for example , a plaintiff must show that they were injured in some way @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as “ standing.
” Yet , as Brann writes , “ the standing inquiry as to the Trump Campaign is particularly nebulous because neither in the [ campaign ’ s amended complaint ] nor in its briefing does the Trump Campaign clearly assert what its alleged injury is.
” That led Judge Brann to “ embark on an extensive project of examining almost every case cited to by Plaintiffs to piece together the theory of standing as to this Plaintiff — the Trump Campaign.
” Thus , despite the harsh rhetoric in his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Trump campaign and its lawyers .
Rather than simply taking the incompetent arguments that were presented to him and rejecting them out of hand , the judge took the time to construct a coherent version of Trump ’ s lawyers ’ arguments — and then he rejected that better version .
I could continue to beat this horse , but it ’ s already dead .
Election law professor Rick Hasen said of Giuliani ’ s appearance in Brann ’ s courtroom , “ I ’ ve never seen worse lawyering in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” And Brann ’ s opinion makes it clear just how bad the Trump campaign ’ s lawyering was .

Last Tuesday, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani appeared in federal court for the first time in 30 years, representing the Trump campaign in its efforts to prevent Pennsylvania from certifying President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in that state.
It was a disaster for Giuliani. The one-time mayor and senior federal prosecutor struggled to articulate what, exactly, was the basis of Trump’s legal claims. And he admitted that he was unfamiliar with basic legal terms such as “strict scrutiny,” one of the rudimentary vocabulary terms taught to every law student during their introduction to constitutional law.
On Saturday evening, Judge Matthew Brann released his opinion in this suit, Donald J. Trump for President v. Boockvar, and the judge did not pull punches. Brann didn’t just reject the Trump campaign’s legal arguments, he mocked the campaign for its inability to present a coherent argument — or to provide any legal support whatsoever for crucial elements of their claims.
Referring to the Trump campaign’s primary legal argument, Brann writes that “this claim, like Frankenstein’s Monster, has been haphazardly stitched together from two distinct theories in an attempt to avoid controlling precedent.” And that’s just one of many scathing lines from a judge who is clearly frustrated with the incompetent lawyering on display in his courtroom.
It’s worth noting that, while Brann was appointed to the federal bench by Democratic President Barack Obama, the judge held multiple leadership positions within the Republican Party. Obama frequently had to strike deals with Republican senators to appoint GOP judges, in order to prevent those senators from blocking Obama’s other nominees.
Indeed, one person who appears particularly impressed with Brann’s conservative street cred is Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA), who released a statement shortly after Brann’s decision was handed down congratulating President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. “With today’s decision by Judge Matthew Brann, a longtime conservative Republican whom I know to be a fair and unbiased jurist, to dismiss the Trump campaign’s lawsuit,” Toomey said in his statement, “President Trump has exhausted all plausible legal options to challenge the result of the presidential race in Pennsylvania.”
Trump could potentially appeal Brann’s decision, and claims that he will. But, given the weakness of his campaign’s arguments, which Brann repeatedly points out, such an appeal is unlikely to prevail.
Trump wanted to disenfranchise millions of voters
The Trump campaign’s main argument challenges an email that Pennsylvania Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar sent to county-level voting officials, encouraging those officials to “provide information to party and candidate representatives during the pre-canvass that identifies the voters whose ballots have been rejected,” so that those voters can be notified that they made an error while submitting those ballots, and will have the opportunity to cure that error.
As it turns out, not all counties took this advice. The Trump campaign claims that Philadelphia, a Democratic stronghold, notified voters that they needed to cure errors in their absentee ballots, while county officials in Republican-leaning counties did not. Thus, the campaign claims, absentee ballots cast in Biden-friendly Philadelphia were more likely to be counted than ballots cast in more Trump-friendly regions of the state — and this discrepancy amounts to unconstitutional discrimination.
But the campaign seeks an extreme remedy for this alleged violation: It asked Judge Brann to forbid the state from certifying the results of its 2020 election. Because some small number of Trump voters allegedly had a harder time voting than some Biden voters, the Trump campaign effectively asks Brann to disenfranchise the entire state of Pennsylvania —something Brann explicitly refuses to do.
As Brann writes, “Prohibiting certification of the election results would not reinstate the Individual Plaintiffs’ right to vote. It would simply deny more than 6.8 million people their right to vote.”
If the Trump campaign was correct that Pennsylvania violated the Constitution by only notifying some voters of the need to cure errors in their absentee ballots, then the proper remedy is to give all voters who needed to cure their ballots an opportunity to do so. It’s not to disenfranchise millions. “The answer to invalidated ballots,” Brann writes, “is not to invalidate millions more.”
Brann’s opinion repeatedly slams Trump’s lawyers for incompetence
Judicial opinions are typically staid documents that avoid direct criticism of legal advocates — both as a professional courtesy and because judges typically want to avoid giving the impression that their disregard for a particular lawyer may have influenced their decision. But Judge Brann clearly believes that Trump’s lawyers behaved egregiously in his courtroom, and that this conduct is worth noting repeatedly in his opinion.
Early in his opinion, Brann summarizes the lawsuit in ten damning words: “Plaintiffs ask this Court to disenfranchise almost seven million voters.” The mere fact that Trump’s lawyers would even request such a thing is audacious. As Brann notes, “this Court has been unable to find any case in which a plaintiff has sought such a drastic remedy in the contest of an election, in terms of the sheer volume of votes asked to be invalidated.”
And yet, Trump’s lawyers did not come to court with any evidence or legal authorities that could justify such a result. “One might expect that when seeking such a startling outcome, a plaintiff would come formidably armed with compelling legal arguments and factual proof of rampant corruption,” Brann writes. But “that has not happened. Instead, this Court has been presented with strained legal arguments without merit and speculative accusations, unpled in the operative complaint and unsupported by evidence.”
Brann also spends an entire section of his opinion describing the game of musical chairs that Trump’s lawyers appeared to play while they were actively litigating the Boockvar case. “Plaintiffs have made multiple attempts at amending the pleadings, and have had attorneys both appear and withdraw in a matter of seventy-two hours,” he writes. On the eve of oral arguments, Trump attempted to replace his entire legal team. Giuliani was added to the team on the same day as the hearing where the former New York City mayor appeared unfamiliar with basic aspects of the case.
At other points in his opinion, Brann calls out the Trump legal team’s inability to explain essential parts of their legal argument. In order to bring a case in federal court, for example, a plaintiff must show that they were injured in some way by the defendant — a requirement known as “standing.” Yet, as Brann writes, “the standing inquiry as to the Trump Campaign is particularly nebulous because neither in the [campaign’s amended complaint] nor in its briefing does the Trump Campaign clearly assert what its alleged injury is.”
That led Judge Brann to “embark on an extensive project of examining almost every case cited to by Plaintiffs to piece together the theory of standing as to this Plaintiff — the Trump Campaign.”
Thus, despite the harsh rhetoric in his opinion, Brann was extraordinarily generous to the Trump campaign and its lawyers. Rather than simply taking the incompetent arguments that were presented to him and rejecting them out of hand, the judge took the time to construct a coherent version of Trump’s lawyers’ arguments — and then he rejected that better version.
I could continue to beat this horse, but it’s already dead. Election law professor Rick Hasen said of Giuliani’s appearance in Brann’s courtroom, “I’ve never seen worse lawyering in an election law case in my life.” And Brann’s opinion makes it clear just how bad the Trump campaign’s lawyering was.


vox--2020-11-22--Sen. Kelly Loeffler has tested positive for the coronavirus

Sen. Kelly Loeffler ( R-GA ) has tested positive for the coronavirus amid her campaign to retain her Senate seat in a special election against Democratic candidate Rev .
Raphael Warnock .
Loeffler reportedly tested positive Friday ; according to her campaign , she received an additional inconclusive test result Saturday , and is asymptomatic .
She is currently quarantining .
If she follows Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines , she will need to refrain from interacting with others — including holding in-person campaign events — for at least nine more days , a significant setback given Georgia @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , on January 5 .
The senator campaigned in person Friday ahead of her test , having reportedly received a negative test that morning ; her events placed her in close contact with Vice President Mike Pence and fellow Georgia Sen. David Perdue , a Republican who will also be on the ballot January 5 , potentially exposing them to infection .
Pence has had a number of exposures , including at a White House superspreader event held in celebration of Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett , but appears to have avoided @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are both in tight races ; Perdue is running against Democratic candidate Jon Ossoff , a filmmaker who narrowly lost a hotly contested congressional race in 2017 .
The two contests have taken on national significance as their results will decide which party will control the Senate , and to what degree President-elect Joe Biden will be able to fill seats in his Cabinet , let alone pursue the kinds of legislation he promised during his campaign .
Some Republicans , like Sen. John Cornyn ( R-TX ) have said if Republicans control @ @ @ @ @ @ @ advised to not nominate radical progressives and people that would have difficulty.
” And a GOP-controlled Senate would also likely limit the size and scope of any future coronavirus stimulus and aid package , as the Republican Party has repeatedly said they believe Democrats ’ plans for sweeping Covid-19 legislation are unnecessary and would add too much to the national debt .
Polls show a race that is essentially tied .
And as Vox ’ s Ella Nilsen has explained , while normally Republicans would be seen as having an advantage in Georgia @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lower-turnout contests than normal elections — this year , there are a number of factors that make both races unpredictable .
For one , Nilsen notes , “ the metro Atlanta area is booming , and a lot of people moving there are young and diverse .
Increasingly , they ’ re voting Democratic.
” This new influx of voters , coupled with the efforts of activists and local Democratic Party officials to register new voters and increase turnout , powered a narrow Biden victory in the state .
Second , both races @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Republicans both see winning as critical , as both want control of the Senate .
This has meant an influx of money and volunteers , as well as a unprecedented focus on both seats .
Third , Loeffler and Perdue have both been embroiled in financial scandals related to stock trades they made early in the pandemic , including sales that kept them from massive financial losses and acquisitions of companies that have increased their value due to the spread of the coronavirus .
Both candidates received information not yet available to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and its potential consequences .
Both made savvy trades after learning that information , something the senators claimed was done without their knowledge .
The Department of Justice briefly investigated Loeffler , and several other senators , before dropping its investigation ; and both Loeffler and Perdue were cleared by the Senate Ethics Committee ( a body that , as Ed Kilgore notes in New York Magazine , has a “ very tolerant approach to conflicts of interest ” ) .
But it is the final variable that perhaps injects the most uncertainty @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Trump isn ’ t helping Loeffler and Perdue because he is still focused on overturning the results of the November 3 election Trump has been of little help to either Republican because he has been primarily focused on casting doubt on Georgia ’ s results in the presidential election .
He lost the state by 12,636 votes , but incorrectly insists that election officials counted wrong .
Georgia has already counted its ballots twice — the second time was a hand recount , where all of its 5 million votes were examined @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Biden won both those counts .
The state certified its election results on Friday , with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger saying he stands by the count .
“ Working as an engineer throughout my life , I live by the motto that numbers don ’ t lie , ” Raffensperger said Friday morning .
“ The numbers reflect the verdict of the people , not a decision by the secretary of state ’ s office or of courts or of either campaign.
” Gov .
Brian Kemp also signed off on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ requested another recount on Saturday , saying in a statement , “ We are focused on ensuring that every aspect of Georgia State Law and the U.S. Constitution are followed so that every legal vote is counted.
” And Trump has repeatedly issued tweets casting doubt on the results in Georgia — and other states — claiming , falsely , that illegal ballots were counted and spreading debunked conspiracy theories about the machines and software used to tally votes during the first count .
These efforts have taken time and attention away from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Republicans ’ messaging on the runoff .
Rather than focus on the issues , both candidates have been forced to trumpet their support of Trump in his quixotic bid to overturn the election ’ s results .
During his stop in Georgia , Pence told audiences , “ As our election contests continue , here in Georgia and in courts across the country , I ’ ll make you [ a ] promise : We ’ re going to keep fighting until every legal vote is counted .
We ’ re going to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ thrown out.
” And NPR ’ s Claudia Grisales notes that Perdue ’ s efforts to frame the runoff as the only way to check Biden and keep the Senate in the GOP ’ s hands were interrupted by chants of “ Stop the steal !
” — a rally cry used by Trump supporters who believe the president ’ s false claims that the election is being stolen from him .
Adding to the overall concern that Trump may be leading Republicans into sabotaging themselves in Georgia is the fact that the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the professionalism of election officials there , casting Raffensperger as corrupt and Kemp as incompetent .
“ Georgia Secretary of State , a so-called Republican ( RINO ) , won ’ t let the people checking the ballots see the signatures for fraud , ” Trump tweeted Friday .
“ Everyone knows that we won the state .
Where is @ BrianKempGA ?
” His assertion that the people running the special election can ’ t be trusted would seem to give the president ’ s supporters little incentive to participate in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ why Georgians should vote for Loeffler or Purdue .
And if the race is as close as the presidential one , both senators will need every vote to keep their seats .

Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) has tested positive for the coronavirus amid her campaign to retain her Senate seat in a special election against Democratic candidate Rev. Raphael Warnock.
Loeffler reportedly tested positive Friday; according to her campaign, she received an additional inconclusive test result Saturday, and is asymptomatic. She is currently quarantining. If she follows Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, she will need to refrain from interacting with others — including holding in-person campaign events — for at least nine more days, a significant setback given Georgia’s special election is fast approaching, on January 5.
The senator campaigned in person Friday ahead of her test, having reportedly received a negative test that morning; her events placed her in close contact with Vice President Mike Pence and fellow Georgia Sen. David Perdue, a Republican who will also be on the ballot January 5, potentially exposing them to infection. Pence has had a number of exposures, including at a White House superspreader event held in celebration of Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett, but appears to have avoided infection thus far.
Loeffler and Perdue are both in tight races; Perdue is running against Democratic candidate Jon Ossoff, a filmmaker who narrowly lost a hotly contested congressional race in 2017.
The two contests have taken on national significance as their results will decide which party will control the Senate, and to what degree President-elect Joe Biden will be able to fill seats in his Cabinet, let alone pursue the kinds of legislation he promised during his campaign.
Some Republicans, like Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), have said if Republicans control the Senate Biden “would be well advised to not nominate radical progressives and people that would have difficulty.” And a GOP-controlled Senate would also likely limit the size and scope of any future coronavirus stimulus and aid package, as the Republican Party has repeatedly said they believe Democrats’ plans for sweeping Covid-19 legislation are unnecessary and would add too much to the national debt.
Polls show a race that is essentially tied. And as Vox’s Ella Nilsen has explained, while normally Republicans would be seen as having an advantage in Georgia’s runoffs — which are typically lower-turnout contests than normal elections — this year, there are a number of factors that make both races unpredictable.
For one, Nilsen notes, “the metro Atlanta area is booming, and a lot of people moving there are young and diverse. Increasingly, they’re voting Democratic.” This new influx of voters, coupled with the efforts of activists and local Democratic Party officials to register new voters and increase turnout, powered a narrow Biden victory in the state.
Second, both races have received national attention — Democrats and Republicans both see winning as critical, as both want control of the Senate. This has meant an influx of money and volunteers, as well as a unprecedented focus on both seats.
Third, Loeffler and Perdue have both been embroiled in financial scandals related to stock trades they made early in the pandemic, including sales that kept them from massive financial losses and acquisitions of companies that have increased their value due to the spread of the coronavirus.
Both candidates received information not yet available to the public about the severity of the coronavirus and its potential consequences. Both made savvy trades after learning that information, something the senators claimed was done without their knowledge. The Department of Justice briefly investigated Loeffler, and several other senators, before dropping its investigation; and both Loeffler and Perdue were cleared by the Senate Ethics Committee (a body that, as Ed Kilgore notes in New York Magazine, has a “very tolerant approach to conflicts of interest”).
But it is the final variable that perhaps injects the most uncertainty into the race: President Donald Trump.
Trump isn’t helping Loeffler and Perdue because he is still focused on overturning the results of the November 3 election
Trump has been of little help to either Republican because he has been primarily focused on casting doubt on Georgia’s results in the presidential election. He lost the state by 12,636 votes, but incorrectly insists that election officials counted wrong.
Georgia has already counted its ballots twice — the second time was a hand recount, where all of its 5 million votes were examined and tabulated by trained election officials. Biden won both those counts.
The state certified its election results on Friday, with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger saying he stands by the count.
“Working as an engineer throughout my life, I live by the motto that numbers don’t lie,” Raffensperger said Friday morning. “The numbers reflect the verdict of the people, not a decision by the secretary of state’s office or of courts or of either campaign.”
Gov. Brian Kemp also signed off on the results.
But the Trump campaign requested another recount on Saturday, saying in a statement, “We are focused on ensuring that every aspect of Georgia State Law and the U.S. Constitution are followed so that every legal vote is counted.”
And Trump has repeatedly issued tweets casting doubt on the results in Georgia — and other states — claiming, falsely, that illegal ballots were counted and spreading debunked conspiracy theories about the machines and software used to tally votes during the first count.
These efforts have taken time and attention away from the Senate races, and has complicated Republicans’ messaging on the runoff. Rather than focus on the issues, both candidates have been forced to trumpet their support of Trump in his quixotic bid to overturn the election’s results.
During his stop in Georgia, Pence told audiences, “As our election contests continue, here in Georgia and in courts across the country, I’ll make you [a] promise: We’re going to keep fighting until every legal vote is counted. We’re going to keep fighting until every illegal vote is thrown out.”
And NPR’s Claudia Grisales notes that Perdue’s efforts to frame the runoff as the only way to check Biden and keep the Senate in the GOP’s hands were interrupted by chants of “Stop the steal!” — a rally cry used by Trump supporters who believe the president’s false claims that the election is being stolen from him.
Adding to the overall concern that Trump may be leading Republicans into sabotaging themselves in Georgia is the fact that the president has worked to cast doubt on the professionalism of election officials there, casting Raffensperger as corrupt and Kemp as incompetent.
“Georgia Secretary of State, a so-called Republican (RINO), won’t let the people checking the ballots see the signatures for fraud,” Trump tweeted Friday. “Everyone knows that we won the state. Where is @BrianKempGA?”
His assertion that the people running the special election can’t be trusted would seem to give the president’s supporters little incentive to participate in the contests. Trump has not yet explained why Georgians should vote for Loeffler or Purdue. And if the race is as close as the presidential one, both senators will need every vote to keep their seats.