Supreme Court issues 18-word rejection to Trump's election hopes

Donald Trump's bid to overturn the presidential election results in the key state of Pennsylvania has been given a one-sentence knock-back from the Supreme Court.

The lawsuit, filed by Trump ally and Congressman Mike Kelly, among others, sought to immediately overturn the already-certified results.

But the Supreme Court's response was just 18 words long.

Donald Trump has lost more than 50 lawsuits since his election defeat.

"The application for injunctive relief presented to Justice Alito and by him referred to the Court is denied," the statement from the Supreme Court read.

There were no noted dissenters, suggesting the decision not to overturn the results was unanimous.

The Trump campaign has filed and lost more than 50 lawsuits in the aftermath of the election, focused on swing states like Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan and Arizona.

But this is the first such case to be appealed to the Supreme Court.

Donald Trump's campaign has sued countless times to overturn the election result.

Three of the nine Supreme Court justices were appointed by Mr Trump, and he had publicly expressed his assumptions they would back him in an election case.

In one of his most bizarre tweets, Mr Trump retweeted an image of one of his appointees, Judge Amy Coney Barrett, with doctored "laser eyes".

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1336407510069161988

The tweet was posted hours before the Supreme Court ruling.

The case was filed in spite of the withering dismissal it received from an appeals court late last month.

"Free, fair elections are the lifeblood of our democracy," Judge Stephanos Bibas wrote.

"Voters, not lawyers, choose the president."

Judge Bibas was himself appointed by Mr Trump.

Attorney-General of Texas Ken Paxton is suing four states to overturn their election results.

Meanwhile, Texas's Attorney-General Ken Paxton has filed a lawsuit in the Supreme Court against the states of Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Mr Paxton has accused the states of engaging in election irregularities, and sought to place the election results in the hands of those states' legislatures.

He accused the four states of "exploiting the COVID-19 pandemic" to justify changes to election procedures in an effort to skew the result.

"Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin destroyed that trust and compromised the security and integrity of the 2020 election," he said in a statement.

"The states violated statutes enacted by their duly elected legislatures, thereby violating the Constitution."

His Michigan counterpart, Attorney-General Dana Nessel, described his lawsuit as a "publicity stunt".

Michigan Attorney-General Dana Nessel has lambasted her Texas counterpart's lawsuit attempt.

"The Michigan issues raised in this complaint have already been thoroughly litigated and roundly rejected in both state and federal courts — by judges appointed from both political parties," she said.

"Mr Paxton's actions are beneath the dignity of the office of attorney general and the people of the great state of Texas."

Wisconsin's Attorney-General Josh Kaul described Mr Paxton's lawsuit as "genuinely embarrassing".

Mr Paxton is currently under investigation by the FBI, over allegations made of bribery and abuse of office by eight former aides.

He was elected as Texas's top lawman in 2016 even though he has been indicted for securities fraud. He is yet to face trial five years after being indicted.

Joe Biden wants a 100-day mask mandate when he takes office.

Joe Biden will be formally named the president-elect when the electoral college meets next week.

He will be sworn in as president on January 20. Mr Trump has refused to say whether he will attend the inauguration.



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