FILE PHOTO: Sidney Powell, an attorney later disavowed by the Trump campaign, participates in a news conference with U.S. President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani at the Republican National Committee headquarters on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S. November 19, 2020. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
November 24, 2020
By Makini Brice and Jonathan Stempel
(Reuters) – Pennsylvania officials asked the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals to reject an appeal made by U.S. President Donald Trump’s campaign, according to a court filing on Tuesday.
Lawyers for Trump’s campaign have asked the court to halt the “effect” of the battleground state’s results. The Pennsylvania results were certified earlier on Tuesday, further dimming Trump’s already long-shot quest to change the outcome of the election.
The Trump campaign is appealing a decision made by a lower court judge, who rejected claims of inconsistent treatment of mail-in ballots. Some counties told voters they could fix defective ballots, such as a missing “secrecy envelope,” while others did not.
The campaign wants to add back allegations it dropped from the case, including a claim that its due process rights were violated.
In appealing the decision, the Trump campaign said it was focusing on the “narrow” question of whether U.S. District Judge Matthew Brann improperly refused to let them amend their lawsuit a second time.
“The district court did not abuse its discretion, and its denial of leave to amend should be affirmed,” lawyers for Pennsylvania Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar wrote in the filing.
(Reporting by Makini Brice and Jonathan Stempel; Editing by Noeleen Walder and Chris Reese)
