Delusional Trump Supporters Wrong Again
Republican National Committee had urged a delay in Michigan but it was another losing effort as the Board of Canvassers certifies Michigan’s election results.
The board, made up of two Republicans and two Democrats, met Nov. 23 to make the vote count official after all 83 Michigan counties certified their election results, which include Joe Biden’s 2.8% statewide victory over President Donald Trump. The state certification of the more than 5.5 million ballots cast comes after Trump and his attorneys and supporters persistently called for delaying certification. Board of State Canvasser Norman Shinkle abstained from the vote.
Christopher Thomas, a former Michigan Elections Director who came out of retirement to help oversee Detroit’s election process, took questions from the board and said the canvassers don’t have the authority to conduct or order investigations or audits of the count before certification.
Thomas said the board may adjourn and wait for corrections to returns, but members must have a reason to do so, and with all Michigan counties having certified their results, he argued there would be no legal basis for declining to immediately certify.
“You can’t vote ‘no’. There is no ‘no’ in these circumstances… You’re the endgame of the statewide elections for 2020,” Thomas said.
No Legal Provision to Do Anything But Certify
Thomas is correct. There is no legal provision in Michigan law to do anything but certify the results.
Michigan GOP Leaders Tell Election Board to Break the Law
Despite legalities of the matter, Michigan GOP Leaders Tell Election Board to Break the Law
Incitement
Laura Cox @MIGOPChair and Ronn McDaniel @GOPChairwoman tell the Michigan election certification board to break the law.
Cox and McDaniel “encourage the board to adjourn for 14 days“
That is encouraging the board to do something illegal.
At best, it is incitement.
In criminal law, incitement is the encouragement of another person to commit a crime.
Team Trump is willing to do anything legal or not in an attempt to steal the election.
I said Michigan would certify today and they did.
Judge Disembowels Trump’s “Frankenstein” Pennsylvania Lawsuit
On November 21, I noted Judge Disembowels Trump’s “Frankenstein” Pennsylvania Lawsuit
Today, Judge Matthew Brann accurately disemboweled a preposterous Trump legal challenge with these words: ‘This is Simply Not How the Constitution Works’
“In the United States of America, this cannot justify the disenfranchisement of a single voter, let alone all the voters of its sixth most populated state. Our people, laws, and institutions demand more.”
“This claim, like Frankenstein’s Monster, has been haphazardly stitched together from two distinct theories in an attempt to avoid controlling precedent.”
Trump challenged the Pennsylvania ruling..
Pennsylvania’s High Court Rejects Trump Campaign Bid to Throw Out Ballots
Today, in yet another correct decision against a team willing to lie, cheat, and steal, the Wall Street Journal reports Pennsylvania’s High Court Rejects Trump Campaign Bid to Throw Out Ballots.
Pennsylvania’s highest court declined to invalidate thousands of mail-in and absentee ballots with minor errors, striking another blow to the Trump campaign’s attempt to contest election results in the battleground state.
The Monday 4-3 ruling applies to 8,329 ballots contested by the Trump campaign in Philadelphia and 2,349 contested by a Republican candidate in Allegheny County, both areas that lean Democratic. The decision likely brings an end to the issue, which has been the subject of substantial post-election litigation in the state due to its expansion of mail-in voting amidst the pandemic.
In an opinion announcing the decision, state Justice Christine Donohue wrote that minor errors, “while constituting technical violations of the Election Code, do not warrant the wholesale disenfranchisement of thousands of Pennsylvania voters.”
Appeal Filed
Team Trump won a temporary victory in Pennsylvania in which they could make new Pennsylvania claims.
The Monday order, from the Philadelphia-based Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, requires the Trump campaign and Pennsylvania election officials to file written arguments Monday and Tuesday. The court said it would then decide whether to hold a hearing.
The order came in response to an unusual Trump campaign request filed Sunday. The campaign lawyers appealed only the district court’s denial to file a new complaint, not the dismissal of its lawsuit.
Appeal Misspells the Word President
To show just how sloppy, haphazard, and desperate Trump’s legal team is, please note the Pennsylvania Appeal Misspells the Word “President,” and Butchers Grammar.
The Trump campaign’s appeal of its devastating loss in federal court in Pennsylvania misspells the word “president” and butchers grammar.
The appeal filed Monday also did not ask an appeals court to reverse its defeat or temporarily block Pennsylvania counties’ certification of votes, which are due later in the day.
Instead, the appeal at the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit effectively asks for a do-over of its so-far-botched legal effort to invalidate enough votes in Pennsylvania to overturn a projected victory for President-elect Joe Biden, and a loss for President Donald Trump.
Get Your Act Together
The court gave Trump’s lawyers until 4:00 PM Eastern to get its act together.
I assure you that won’t happen.
Perhaps we find out later today. Regardless, it will be soon enough.
Law Firms Bail
On November 13, Politico reported Another law firm bails out on Trump campaign.
Columbus-based firm Porter Wright Morris & Arthur notified a federal judge hearing a Trump-filed suit over the election tallies in Pennsylvania that the firm is seeking to pull out of the case.
It is highly unusual for a major law firm to seek to withdraw its representation of a client in litigation so soon after it commenced.
“Cancel Culture has finally reached the courtroom,” said Trump campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh in a statement. “Leftist mobs descended upon some of the lawyers representing the President’s campaign and they buckled.”
He added, “The President’s team is undeterred and will move forward with rock-solid attorneys to ensure free and fair elections for all Americans.”
Flashback November 16
Recall Trump Campaign Lawyers Quit Pennsylvania Lawsuit—Again
Three attorneys representing the Trump campaign in a lawsuit seeking to block Pennsylvania from certifying its election results announced their withdrawal from the case Monday night, becoming the second set of attorneys to back down from representing the Trump campaign in the case and coming hours before the case is set to be heard in court Tuesday.
The motion comes three days after the previous law firm representing the Trump campaign in the lawsuit, Porter Wright Morris & Arthur, also withdrew from the case, and after a law firm in Arizona backed out of representing the Trump campaign in a separate lawsuit last week.
Trump Boots Legal Advisor Sidney Powell
Yesterday, I noted Attorney Sidney Powell Fired for Being Too Conspiratorial Even For Trump
Rudy Giuliani, President Trump’s top election lawyer, said at a wild press conference last Thursday that he, Sidney Powell, and Jenna Ellis were “an elite strike force team” that’s “representing President Trump and we’re representing the Trump campaign.”
Powell was booted for (among other ridiculous things) making bizarro claims that Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez interfered in the election.
Chavez died in 2013.
No Worries, Lighten Up, She’s On it
NO WORRIES. @SidneyPowell1 is Still on the case. Her client: JUSTICE. She’s CONSISTENTLY RIGHT when others are WRONG(see Flynn)-LIFE threatened, VICIOUS MEDIA ASSAULTS, even TUCKER CARLSON bitched and moaned because she didn’t “JUMP” when he said “JUMP.” Lighten up! SHE’S ON IT!
— Greg Kelly (@gregkellyusa) November 23, 2020
What a hoot.
One of Many Notes
I’ll make a note
— Mike “Mish” Shedlock (@MishGEA) November 20, 2020
Trump’s Legal Team is a Farce
An administration official texts, unsolicited: “This has become a farce. The legal effort is now making the president a national laughingstock.” https://t.co/0p6Bfw754p
— Rebecca Ballhaus (@rebeccaballhaus) November 22, 2020
National Embarrassment
Chris Christie Calls Trump’s Legal Team a National Embarrassment
“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
Reflections on the State of Affairs
If you think this is all insane, just remember it’s only going to get worse. Because he’s going to get worse. He can’t change the result, but he’s going to get wilder as he becomes increasingly more desperate.
— George Conway (@gtconway3d) November 23, 2020
This is so pathetic it’s starting to get humorous.
Understanding the Path
What makes you think the Supreme Court will even take these cases?
As for millions of ballots switched in the middle of the night – you are delusional or brainwashed. https://t.co/fukMO5FEle
— Mike “Mish” Shedlock (@MishGEA) November 18, 2020
Trump’s 4D Master Plan
This is all part of Trump’s 4D master plan.
Trump planned in advance to lose 34 consecutive cases so that he could get straight to the Supreme Court for an ultimate victory that would shock the whole world.
Proposed Reality
After these total mockeries of justice by Team Trump (members dwindling by the day), I highly doubt the Supreme Court takes any of these cases.
Mish
Does it seem Romney’s niece Ronna McDaniel is in survival mode as news began to break Donald Jr. and his lap dancing for GOP donations girlfriend may be vying for her job? I bet Thanksgiving is interesting at Uncle Mitt’s house.
She is vying for wife #1 position.
“If we can do this, we have a real chance at getting these RINO senators to act on the illegitimate and corrupt election presided over by a Democrat party that is invested in the Communist takeover of Our Great Nation,” the group wrote on its new website, writeintrumpforgeorgiasenate.com. “We will not stop fighting for you, the American Patriot, against the evils of Socialism and inferior Religions.”
Got to admit that I find that hysterical. Supposedly they oppose a “liberal takeover”, yet they are fighting hard to accomplish a “liberal takeover”. They are the RINOs now.
I should add that what is especially amusing is that the point of the name “RINO” in the first place it to accomplish the goal of shrinking the Republican Party. They have been using that name to shrink the party for about 20 years, now. Gone are the days of the landslide victories, and soon, gone will be all victories at all.
More steam behind the “boycott the Georgia runoff” in Republican land.
Roger Stone group moving in that direction.
After 2016, the dems would have been smart to focus on 2020 instead of complaining. The dems won in spite of Biden. Not because of him. The republicans would be smart to focus on 2024. Biden won’t be running and Kamala is extremely unlikeable with her condescending tone. The pubs can get back in the white house if they focus.
The Republicans can get back in the White House only if they take a new approach. They can’t continue the divide, divide, divide approach. Every time you divide, you push a few more people to the other side. Once Reagan declared that the Republican Party was the big tent party, and everyone was welcome. Now if you aren’t a true believer in everything MAGA, you must be a RINO, and are encouraged to leave.
So, the party of the resistance that attempted to impeach trump over nothing and launched a multi year investigation in order to get him kicked out of office is not the party trying to divide?
Makes perfect sense.
And yet, Trump consciously made Republicans the party of division, and allowed Democrats to be the party speaking of unity, and that was why he lost. In four years, he never made any effort to unite the country on any issue. Instead, he constantly played to his loyal core. The problem with repeated divisions, is that every time you divide the country, with each division, a few more people end up pushed out of the loyal core that is in 100% agreement, and eventually you don’t have a majority anymore. As an example, I agree with Trump on about 70% of the issues, yet, the fact that I disagree on 30% of the issues makes me unwelcome in the Republican Party, so I have left it for good.
Trump could have made statements along the lines of:
“Covid is going to be a difficult challenge for our country, but it we all work together, we can get through this”
or “the issue of how when police should use force is a difficult one, yet in American, everyone deserves to be treated fairly, regardless of color. Extreme measures such as defunding the police are not the answer. We need to all work together to find answers that provide us protection form dangerous criminals, but also provide protection from excessive force.”
There is nothing controversial about either statement, and I think at least 70-80% of the people would agree with them. Rather than playing to the majority, though, he chose to speak to his 40% core supporters, and increased division. That, in turn, allowed Biden to be the one to take the high ground, and call for unity.
So, does it make sense that Trump reaped what he sowed? Yes, it does. He has no one to blame but himself. Other Republicans, running for other offices, did fine.
…After 2016, the dems would have been smart to focus on 2020….
I usually get 8 hours of sleep a night.
Apparently you slept all through 2017, 2018 and 2019–are you stiff in the joints after sleeping that long?
Its not over until the fat orange man leaves the white house. People are forgetting how he brings the crazy. A lot of damage can happen in 50 days.
Trump finally stopped blocking the transition. It’s over. I’m going with Michael Cohen’s prediction that Trump goes to Mar-a-lago for Thanksgiving and never steps foot in the White House. He’ll never formally concede or show up at Biden’s inauguration. That’s who Trump is.
I listened to the Certification board for most of the three hours. Republicans went on the call advocating that the board disregard the law. In the end it was to no avail The board certified 3-0. Even Shirkey only abstained in the end and didn’t have the guts to vote against..
From there Trump’s defense team fell apart. Already reeling from the disastrous Sidney Powell , Jenna Ellis, Rudy Giuliani press conference hours later GSA Emily signed off on the transition.
I guess it no longer matters if Trump concedes or not.
Correct – But he might under pressure – he could also resign
Republicans have abandoned ship
Limbaugh says Powell, “who’s that??”
Repeatedly praising Powell’s “impeccable reputation” on Thursday afternoon, Limbaugh claimed that Powell had “evidence of fraud” and “detailed evidence of communist money” being used to “rig the elections,” telling his listeners that the presser was a “full hour of constant, overwhelming evidence.”
Fast forward to Monday: Limbaugh now sings a different tune.
“I mean, it’s a tough thing to deny that she was ever a part of it because they introduced her as part of it. I mean, she was at that press conference last week,” he noted, adding that there is no credibly denying Powell’s official involvement on Trump’s legal team.
Now what are they going to remonstrate about over on Zero Hedge?
Checked over there earlier, many of them are still believers. They’re too invested in this issue to let a little thing like reality get in the way.
“They’re too invested in this issue to let a little thing like reality get in the way.”
Love it
I am going to steal that
Did you make that up?
I did make it up, but go ahead and steal away like Robbie Dupree.
The dress up militia boys are foaming at the mouth this morning.
Great…Somebody tell them to go home and make some MAGA memes.
GSA ascertains result. Transition is now official.