US Supreme Court refuses to overturn Trump’s Pennsylvania loss, Latest World News - The New Paper
World

US Supreme Court refuses to overturn Trump’s Pennsylvania loss

This article is more than 12 months old

WASHINGTON: The US Supreme Court on Tuesday dealt the latest blow to US President Donald Trump's effort to overturn his election loss when it denied his allies' attempt to block the certification of votes in key state Pennsylvania.

The nation's highest court, which includes three Trump-appointed justices out of nine, did not explain its decision, and none expressed dissent.

More than a month since the Nov 3 election, Mr Trump still refuses to concede to Democrat Joe Biden - who has a seven million-vote lead - and continues to make baseless claims of fraud.

Mr Trump and his allies have filed dozens of lawsuits in several key states, almost all of which have been thrown out by the courts.

One of them, brought by Republican Congressman Mike Kelly, challenged the legality of mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania, a crucial battleground state.

Mr Biden carried Pennsylvania in November's vote, four years after Mr Trump won the state.

After the case was rejected by the state Supreme Court, the plaintiffs turned to the national Supreme Court, asking it to freeze all electoral operations while they developed their arguments.

In dismissing the case, the Court put an end to the procedure and signalled that it was not inclined to get involved in post-election litigation.

Mr Trump had hoped that the high court, whose bench he has tipped solidly to the right, would intervene in his favour.

The bad news for Mr Trump did not end there.

The Supreme Court of Nevada rejected an appeal late on Tuesday to overturn the election results in the state, affirming Mr Biden's win in one of the battleground states that gave him overall victory.

Last week, a district court in Nevada ruled that the Trump campaign had not proven a claim that there had been a malfunction in voting devices and the contest between Mr Trump and Mr Biden had been manipulated.

"We also are not convinced that the district court erred in applying a burden of proof by clear and convincing evidence, as supported by the cases cited in the district court's order," Nevada's Supreme Court said in its judgment.

Nevada's Republican Party said it was "extremely disappointed" by the decision. - AFP, REUTERS

WORLD