A federal appeals court in Pennsylvania has rejected an appeal by U.S President Donald Trump in a lawsuit alleging massive voter fraud, saying that his campaign’s fraud claims “have no merit”.
“Calling an election unfair does not make it so. Charges require specific allegations and then proof. We have neither here,” Judge Stephanos Bibas wrote.
Bibas, appointed to the court by Trump in 2017, also called free and fair elections “the lifeblood” of the country’s democracy.
The Trump team’s attorney, Jenna Ellis, was not cowed by the decision.
“The activist judicial machinery in Pennsylvania continues to cover up the allegations of massive fraud” she claimed on Twitter.
Ellis also pledged to take the case to the U.S Supreme Court in Washington: “On to SCOTUS!” Ellis tweeted.
A week ago, the lower court had rejected an injunction by the Trump team to prevent Pennsylvania from certifying the election results.
Trump’s lawsuit had also aimed to potentially invalidate millions of absentee ballots.
U.S District Judge Matthew Brann rejected the suit, saying that Trump’s lawyers had presented only “strained legal arguments without merit and speculative accusations” and these had been “unsupported by evidence”.
The arguments and evidence presented would not even have been enough to declare invalid the vote of “a single voter,” the judge wrote.
“Our people, our laws and institutions demand more” the judge wrote further.
Trump has steadfastly refused to admit defeat, claiming massive electoral fraud in the November 3 election.
However, he has not provided any solid evidence for this.
For this reason, judges in several states have already dismissed several of his lawsuits. (dpa)
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