In blistering ruling, judge throws out Trump lawsuit in Pennsylvania

US President Donald Trump speaks in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on Saturday. Pic/AFP

A federal judge issued a scathing order Saturday dismissing the Trump campaign's futile effort to block the certification of votes in Pennsylvania, shooting down claims of widespread irregularities with mail-in ballots.

The case was always a long shot to stop President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration, but it was President Donald Trump's best hope to affect the election results through the courts, mostly because of the number of electoral votes, 20, at stake in Pennsylvania. His personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, stepped into a courtroom for the first time in decades to argue the case this past week.

US District Court Judge Matthew Brann wrote in his order that Trump had asked the court to disenfranchise almost 7 million voters. "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," Brann wrote, so much that the court would have no option but to stop the certification even though it would impact so many people. "That has not happened."

Trump campaign wants Georgia vote recount

President Donald Trump's campaign requested a recount of votes in the Georgia presidential race on Saturday, a day after state officials certified results showing Democrat Joe Biden won the state, as his legal team presses forward with attacks alleging widespread fraud without proof. The recount will be done using scanners that read and tabulate the votes. County election workers have already done a complete hand recount of all the votes cast in the presidential race. But that stemmed from a mandatory audit requirement and isn't considered an official recount under the law. Biden beat Trump by 12,670 votes or 0.25 per cent. State law allows a candidate to request a recount if the margin is less than 0.5 per cent.

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