A major law firm withdrew overnight from a Trump campaign case in Pennsylvania seeking to have mail-in ballots thrown out, in the latest blow to the president’s efforts to challenge the 2020 election result in court.

The Ohio-based Porter Wright Morris & Arthur firm, which brought a suit on Monday alleging that the use of mail-in ballots had created “an illegal two-tiered voting system” in the state, abruptly withdrew from that case in a memo to the court.


“Plaintiffs and Porter Wright have reached a mutual agreement that plaintiffs will be best served if Porter Wright withdraws,” the memo said. The lead lawyer in the case, the Pittsburgh-based Ronald L Hicks Jr, did not immediately reply to a request for comment. The news was first reported by the New York Times.

Separately, lawyers for the Trump campaign withdrew a lawsuit in Arizona, conceding that the case would not move enough votes to change the election result in the state. “Since the close of yesterday’s hearing, the tabulation of votes statewide has rendered unnecessary a judicial ruling as to the presidential electors,” Trump lawyer Kory Langhofer told an Arizona state court, in news first reported by the Wall Street Journal.

Unlike most lawsuits brought by the Trump campaign, which targeted small pools of votes whose exclusion would not change the election result, the Porter Wright suit in Pennsylvania challenged nearly 2.65m votes that were cast by mail, the majority by Democrats.

Trump's longshot election lawsuits: where do things stand?
It accused the secretary of the commonwealth, Kathy Boockvar, of “arbitrary and illegal actions” and sought an emergency order prohibiting the certification of the Pennsylvania election result.

With that lawsuit stalled, certification in Pennsylvania – and the formal election of Joe Biden as president – drew a step closer. By law the state’s result must be certified by 23 November.

The news came as a coalition of US federal and state officials said they had no evidence that votes were compromised or altered in last week’s presidential election, rejecting unsubstantiated claims of widespread fraud advanced by Trump and many of his supporters.

The statement from cybersecurity experts trumpeted the 3 November election as the most secure in American history.


The Trump campaign has been using lawsuits trying to prevent or delay states in which Trump lost from certifying their election results, an essential step to translating state popular-vote results into a national electoral college result.


Biden has opened up a lead of 5.3m popular votes and counting, and he is on track to win the electoral college 306-232.

Dozens of lawsuits brought by the Trump campaign in six states to challenge the election result have gained little traction. The campaign has won minor court victories, such as requiring Pennsylvania to set aside ballots received after election day in case they are later ruled invalid.

But that pool of ballots and others targeted in Trump lawsuits is not large enough to overcome Biden’s lead in Pennsylvania, where he is up almost 60,000 votes and counting, and in other states.


Porter Wright is representing the Trump campaign and the Republican party in other Pennsylvania lawsuits, including one seeking to throw out mail-in ballots for which missing voter identification information was not provided by 9 November. The disposition of that lawsuit, which Hicks was also leading, is unclear.

Porter Wright and a second large law firm, the Ohio-based Jones Day, representing Republicans in 2020 election lawsuits have come under pressure for acting as perceived accomplices in Trump’s effort to cancel the election result.

The legal news site law.com called it a “public relations nightmare” for the firms. At least one lawyer at Porter Wright resigned over the firm’s decision to carry Trump’s lawsuits forward, the NYT reported.


The Lincoln Project anti-Trump Republican group has attacked the firms on Twitter, asking, “do you believe your law firms should be attempting to overturn the will of the American people?” The group was suspended from Twitter for publishing the names and office contact information of the lawyers.

While legal actions by the Trump campaign are proceeding in multiple states, more than a dozen cases have been thrown out of court, and there is not a single case in which substantial evidence of election fraud has emerged.

Instead, Trump lawyers have had to admit to judges that they have no evidence of fraud – in sharp contrast with the message the president is spreading on Twitter.

In a case in Maricopa county, Arizona, accusing poll workers of misconduct – the case that was withdrawn on Friday afternoon – Trump lawyer Langhofer told a judge that the plaintiffs were “not alleging fraud” or “that anyone is stealing the election” but raising concerns about “good faith errors”.


In a case in Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, the lawyer Jonathan Goldstein, who has his own law firm, was attempting to have 592 mail-in ballots thrown out because of “irregularities” with the ballots’ outer envelopes.

A judge pressed Goldstein on whether he was alleging voter fraud.

“I am asking you a specific question, and I am looking for a specific answer,” the judge said. “Are you claiming that there is any fraud in connection with these 592 disputed ballots?”

“To my knowledge at present, no,” Goldstein said.

“Are you claiming that there is any undue or improper influence upon the elector with respect to these 592 ballots?” asked the judge.

Goldstein replied: “To my knowledge at present, no.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/nov/13/trump-law-firm-withdraws-pennsylvania-election-case

Cc: lalasticlala
Mynd44

A judge pressed Goldstein on whether he was alleging voter fraud.

“I am asking you a specific question, and I am looking for a specific answer,” the judge said. “Are you claiming that there is any fraud in connection with these 592 disputed ballots?”

—“To my knowledge at present, no,” Goldstein said.

“Are you claiming that there is any undue or improper influence upon the elector with respect to these 592 ballots?” asked the judge.

—Goldstein replied: “To my knowledge at present, no.

Reality is setting in for the trump, he is now realizing all his initial gra gra can only scam his base of mostly uneducated white people apart from some dunce in Nigeria. But wait how can a white person tell u Obama the first black US president is bad & an antichrist & u believe but Christopher columbus & braxton braggs that had slaves & treated black people badly they told u are heroes what kind of stupidity is that. They are two main kind of trump supporters those that have racial fears(especially white people) & those that have religious fears. if u aren't afraid of those two things u can hardly be a trump supporter.

righteoussness89
is like the rapture will come dis january ooo since trump isnt coming back
abi u havent receive any information from God since u are d only one my God talks to

Lol

hidhrhis:
righteoussness89

Ignore that fake fellow

You people don't want our Trumping Trumpers to sleep this night abi?

The story is not about who wins bit about ensuring no one steal the americans' mandate.

God blesses Trump.



Buhari, a good man with evil intentions.

Twitter court where Trump can wail all night is what he has left now

America really buy market for Trump hand

The hammer will hit him 100 percent on the head after the Georgia recount.

His supporters need to upgrade their speaking in tongues.......this one at the moment is too weak.

He contested, he lost, let him f**king admit he f**king lost.

ShobayoEmma:
The story is not about who wins bit about ensuring no one steal the americans' mandate.

God blesses Trump.



Buhari, a good man with evil intentions.

Na Buhari appoint Biden as Democrats rep?


You are mentally lopsided

LegendHero:
A judge pressed Goldstein on whether he was alleging voter fraud.

“I am asking you a specific question, and I am looking for a specific answer,” the judge said. “Are you claiming that there is any fraud in connection with these 592 disputed ballots?”

—“To my knowledge at present, no,” Goldstein said.

“Are you claiming that there is any undue or improper influence upon the elector with respect to these 592 ballots?” asked the judge.

—Goldstein replied: “To my knowledge at present, no.

The man for lose im licence for law practice all because of one man

Goke7:
Twitter court where Trump can wail all night is what he has left now

America really buy market for Trump hand

I swear dude twittter should save us from the lamentations of trump

Nairaland should stop spreading fake news.

Trump team won the case in Pennsylvania
As a matter of fact Biden has lost his President-elect status

Most of the Mods here on Politics forum should be punished.

Meanwhile where is WATCHOVER? I Love that guy

HOVER206:
Nairaland should stop spreading fake news.

Trump team won the case in Pennsylvania
As a matter of fact Biden has lost his President-elect status

Most of the Mods here on Politics forum should be punished.

Meanwhile where is WATCHOVER? I Love that guy

The guardian news is fake?

Your condition needs serious scrutinization

Those pastors in America and Ghana that told their members that Trump is cumming in 2021 like Atiku cummed in 2019, hope still dey so??

The hand writing is clearly written on the wall.

Trump is O.H.O

HOVER206:
Nairaland should stop spreading fake news.

Trump team won the case in Pennsylvania
As a matter of fact Biden has lost his President-elect status

Most of the Mods here on Politics forum should be punished.

Meanwhile where is WATCHOVER? I Love that guy

Trump no get server in the cloud?

Goke7:
Twitter court where Trump can wail all night is what he has left now

America really buy market for Trump hand

Even Twitter are no longer allowed him to tweet mischievous message.

Trump is now active on Facebook

cathodekazim:


The guardian news is fake?

Your condition needs serious scrutinization

Please go do your search and stop this insults

... Where are the fake news crooners? Oya food don show. Come and display on this thread.
Righteousness89 come and see your daddy in the lord romancing LGBT flag.. Nawa.

HOVER206:

Please go do your search and stop this insults

Why you dey give yourself hope?

HOVER206:

Please go do your search and stop this insults

Pjmedia

Ipob site

How come your news is not on foxnews, CNN, BBC, Reuters, All Jazeera, Guardian, mp etc. Abeg comot

kingxsamz:


Why you dey give yourself hope?

You are free to say what you like but unfortunately you comment like an infant

HOVER206:

You are free to say what you like but unfortunately you comment like an infant

Pains...
I hope you'll sleep well tonight.

Its not looking good. Trump should just accept defeat in good fate and let sleeping dogs lie

It doesn't matter. Trump can hire Atiku's legal team and he'd have his mandate handed to him on a silver platter in no time.

Can someone remind me what that PDP lawyer's name is again?

cathodekazim:


Pjmedia

Ipob site

How come your news is not on foxnews, CNN, BBC, Reuters, All Jazeera, Guardian, mp etc. Abeg comot

Stop mentioning CNN.

Even fox news, NDTV, carried the same headlines how Trump team won the case.

I blame Nairaland Mods for been bias ever since this US election started.
I heard they banned WATCHOVER

kingxsamz:


Pains...
I hope you'll sleep well tonight.

Let's see who will be in pains.
You think US is as senseless as you

HOVER206:

Stop mentioning CNN.

Even fox news, NDTV, carried the same headlines how Trump team won the case.

I blame Nairaland Mods for been bias ever since this US election started.
I heard they banned WATCHOVER

Eyah... Since yesterday o.
So why hasn't FoxNews called it yet for Trump?

HOVER206:

Let's see who will be in pains.
You think US is as senseless as you

Pele. I See you're restless.
you go dey alright.

kingxsamz:


Eyah... Since yesterday o.
So why hasn't FoxNews called it yet for Trump?

It unfortunate that most of you comment for no reason.
Biden's vote would be reduced there is preparation for recounting going on