Trump supporters rallied in Washington D.C., backing the president’s unsubstantiated claims of wide spread voter fraud in the U.S. election (CBC photo)
By Robert Barnes and Elise Viebeck, Washington Post
The Supreme Court on Tuesday denied a last-minute attempt by President Trump’s allies to overturn the election results in Pennsylvania, a blow to the president’s continuing efforts to reverse his loss to Democrat Joe Biden.
The court’s brief order denying a requested injunction provided no reasoning, nor did it note any dissenting votes. It was the first request to delay or overturn the results of last month’s presidential election to reach the court, and it appears that Justice Amy Coney Barrett, Trump’s latest nominee, took part in the case.
The lawsuit was part of a blizzard of litigation and personal interventions Trump and his lawyers have waged to overturn victories by Biden in a handful of key states. But time is running out, and the electoral college is scheduled to meet in less than a week.
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A guide to Trump’s false election claims | Fact CheckerSince Nov. 4, President Trump has repeatedly claimed his election loss as a result of massive fraud. The following is a roundup of his claims. (Adriana Usero/The Washington Post)
Tuesday afternoon, just before the court’s order was released, Trump appealed for help in his boast that he had won, rather than lost, reelection.
“Now, let’s see whether or not somebody has the courage, whether it’s a legislator or legislatures, or whether it’s a justice of the Supreme Court, or a number of justices of the Supreme Court — let’s see if they have the courage to do what everybody in this country knows is right,” Trump said.
The Pennsylvania petition was considered a long shot — it asked the court to take the rare step of wading into a dispute over state law decided by a state supreme court. But the justices’ curt dismissal does not bode well for other requests that involve overturning election results.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) on Tuesday filed a brash and sweeping complaint that asked the court to overturn Biden’s wins in the swing states of Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and Georgia.
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