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As President Trump's unprecedented campaign to overturn the results of the presidential election drags on, over two dozen lawsuits filed by his legal team have been dismissed or withdrawn. The Trump team is now focusing on delaying or blocking the certification of the election in several states while trying to toss out votes in cities with large Black populations, including Detroit, Philadelphia and Atlanta. New York Times Magazine staff writer Emily Bazelon says the Trump legal team's efforts have so far lacked real substance, with the president's lawyer Rudy Giuliani "treating court as if it's cable news." She also says more Republican lawmakers need to stand up against Trump's attempt to subvert democracy.
Transcript
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AMY GOODMAN: President Trump's unprecedented attempt to overturn the 2020 election is continuing despite new court setbacks. On Saturday, a conservative judge in Pennsylvania dismissed a Trump lawsuit challenging Joe Biden's victory in the state. Judge Matthew Brann accused the Trump team of trying to, quote, "disenfranchise almost seven million voters," unquote, by using, quote, "strained legal arguments without merit and speculative accusations " unsupported by evidence." He went on to write, quote, "This claim, like Frankenstein's Monster, has been haphazardly stitched together," unquote. Trump is appealing the ruling.
Over two dozen lawsuits filed by Trump's legal team have been dismissed or withdrawn. The Trump team is now focusing on delaying or blocking the certification of the election in numerous states while trying to toss out votes in several cities with large Black populations, including Detroit, Philadelphia and Atlanta.
Michigan's state canvassing board is scheduled to vote today on certification, but the Republican National Committee and Republicans in Michigan are seeking a delay. At least one of the Republican members of the four-person board is expected to vote against certifying the results. Michigan could face a constitutional crisis if both Republicans refuse to certify the vote.
On Friday, a group of Michigan Republican state lawmakers, including the Senate majority leader and the state House speaker, were flown to Washington, D.C., to meet with President Trump at the White House in what was widely viewed as an attempt by Trump to personally lobby the lawmakers to block Biden from being awarded Michigan's 16 electoral votes, even though he won the state by about 155,000 votes. Some of the lawmakers were later photographed drinking an $800 bottle of Dom Pe'rignon Champagne at Trump International Hotel, where they were staying.
Meanwhile, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund is suing Trump on behalf of three Black Detroit residents for attempting to disenfranchise voters.
In Georgia, the Trump team has asked for a second recount even though no evidence of widespread fraud emerged during a statewide audit of the election. Biden won the state by over 12,000 votes. On Friday, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp certified the state's slate of 16 presidential electors, but he did not clearly endorse the results.
This all comes as Trump's legal team is distancing itself from attorney Sidney Powell just days after she spread wild conspiracy theories about the election during a news conference with Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani at the headquarters of the Republican National Committee in Washington, D.C.
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