Trump campaign files appeal after Pennsylvania judge shoots down lawsuit

President Trump’s legal team on Sunday filed an appeal to a federal judge’s ruling that struck down his campaign’s effort to block the certification of votes in Pennsylvania.

The appeal, which was filed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, comes just a day after U.S. Middle District Judge Matthew Brann in Williamsport, Pa., rejected a request by the Trump 2020 Campaign for an injunction that would stop the certification of the election, as the campaign seeks to overturn results in swing states across the country. 

“Plaintiffs ask this Court to disenfranchise almost seven million voters,” Brann said Saturday. “This Court has been unable to find any case in which a plaintiff has sought such a drastic remedy in the contest of an election, in terms of the sheer volume of votes asked to be invalidated.”

“One might expect that when seeking such a startling outcome, a plaintiff would come formidably armed with compelling legal arguments and factual proof of rampant corruption, such that this Court would have no option but to regrettably grant the proposed injunctive relief despite the impact it would have on such a large group of citizens,” he added.

The president argued that the Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection under the law was violated by the state, when counties took different measures to inform voters of technical issues that arose with the unprecedented number of mail-in ballots.

Even if he eventually does win the Pennsylvania case, Trump would still need to win other lawsuits in other states then ask to delay certification. The campaign peppered battlegrounds states with litigation in the days after the election alleging widespread election fraud without proof, but the majority of those cases have already been dismissed.

The president has taken his effort to subvert the results of the 2020 election beyond the courtroom in recent days, straight to local lawmakers. Some Trump allies have expressed hope that state lawmakers could intervene in selecting Republican electors.

Trump invited Michigan legislators to the White House Friday, hoping that an Oval Office meeting would persuade them to set aside the popular vote favoring Biden by more than 154,000. But the lawmakers issued a statement after the meeting that they would follow the law and “normal process” on electors. Trump may have been considering a similar invitation to lawmakers from Pennsylvania.