Trump and his allies launch new efforts to reverse Biden’s victory in key states

A clipping of US President Donald Trump is shown as supporters participate in a protest against the results of the 2020 US presidential election in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, on November 21, 2020. REUTERS / Chris Aluka Berry

WASHINGTON – Hit by setbacks in a desperate attempt to reverse the U.S. presidential election, President Donald Trump on Saturday repeated baseless allegations of voter fraud and his allies tried to block official recognition of Democrat Joe Biden’s victories in Michigan and Pennsylvania.

Two weeks after Biden was declared president-elect, Trump, a Republican, has refused to budge and seeks to invalidate or change the results through lawsuits and recounts in various battle states. His campaign has provided no evidence for his claims of widespread and coordinated voter fraud.

On Saturday, a group of Republican politicians and voters filed a lawsuit in a Pennsylvania state court arguing that a 2019 law that paved the way to expand absentee voting was unconstitutional. They sought to prevent authorities from certifying that Biden won 81,000 more votes than Trump in the state, and instead allow the Republican-controlled legislature to decide who won the election.

One nonpartisan expert said the lawsuit, like dozens of others brought by the Trump campaign and its allies, would not get very far in court.

“I don’t think this case is designed to win,” said Benjamin Geffen, an attorney at the Public Interest Law Center in Philadelphia. “I am concerned that the case is more about stoking conspiracy theories and undermining civic confidence in our electoral process.”

In Michigan, the Republican National Committee and the state Republican Party wrote to the state canvassing board asking them to suspend the session for 14 days to allow an audit of ballots in Wayne County, which includes the majority city of Detroit. black. The letter cites complaints of “irregularities” that have not been substantiated. Biden won 154,000 more votes than Trump in Michigan.

A spokesman for the Michigan Department of State noted that Michigan law does not allow audits prior to certification, which will take place on Monday, and said: “Judges initially appointed by Republicans and Democrats have found that widespread fraud allegations are lacking. merit. “

Two top Michigan Republican lawmakers who came to Washington at Trump’s urging said after meeting with him on Friday that they had no information that would change the outcome of the state’s election.

Trump said Saturday that the media was misinterpreting the statement, in which the couple also said they had faith in a review by Michigan lawmakers.

“Massive electoral fraud will be displayed!” Trump wrote on Twitter.

Trump’s efforts, which critics call an unprecedented push by a sitting president to subvert the will of the voters, have met with little success in the courtroom or on the ground.

A manual recount and audit in Georgia confirmed Biden on Friday as the winner in the southern state, the first Democratic presidential candidate to win Georgia in nearly three decades.

The Trump campaign now has two business days to request a recount in Georgia. Trump’s legal team has also said it plans a lawsuit in the state, but has not provided details.

Trump’s accusations have continued to ignite his hard-core Republican base.

Hundreds of supporters rallied in the Atlanta House of Representatives Saturday, with a video posted online showing speakers denouncing the media for calling Biden the winner of the election, as well as some Republicans, including the governor of Georgia, Brian Kemp, for certifying the results. A counter-protest had also been formed and riot police were deployed between the two groups.

defend yourself

The latest tactic of the Trump campaign is to convince Republican-controlled legislatures in the battlefield states won by Biden to set aside the results and declare Trump the winner, according to three people familiar with the plan.

The long-term effort is focused on Michigan and Pennsylvania for now, although Trump would still need to reverse the vote in another state to jump ahead of Biden in the Electoral College.

Such an event would be unprecedented in modern American history.

Some groups were fighting back with their own legal actions.

On Friday, a group of black voters in Detroit and a voting rights organization filed a lawsuit in federal court accusing Trump and his campaign of violating the Voting Rights Act of 1965 by falsely claiming voter fraud and trying to overturn the voting rights. results in Michigan and other states pressuring officials not to count or certify votes or to install pro-Trump voters.

“The defendants openly seek to disenfranchise black voters,” the lawsuit says. More than 78% of Detroit residents are black, according to US Census data.

Biden, who has denounced Trump’s attempt to reverse the election results as “totally irresponsible,” spent Saturday meeting with transition advisers and attending church.

Trump participated in a virtual summit of the 20 largest economies in the world and then went golfing at his club in Sterling, Virginia.

Senior Republicans have largely remained silent on Trump’s unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud or defended his right to seek redress, but several voiced doubts on Friday.

Two Republican sources said that a press conference Thursday in which Trump’s attorney Rudolph Giuliani accused Democrats of participating in a “national conspiracy” to manipulate vote totals, although they admitted he had no evidence, may have been a turning point for some former allies.

The General Services Administration, led by a Trump appointee, has failed to acknowledge Biden’s victory, preventing his team from gaining access to government office space and funds normally provided to an incoming administration before the Day. of the Inauguration on January 20.

Critics say Trump’s delay and refusal to concede have serious implications for national security and the fight against the coronavirus, which has killed nearly 255,000 Americans.

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