Federal Judge Rejects Trump’s Latest Attempt to Overturn Georgia’s Election Results in Suit Against Brad Raffensperger

President Donald Trump’s legal team continued its unprecedented string of legal defeats on Tuesday morning when a federal judge in Georgia refused to order decertification of the state’s election results—just one day before Congress will formally count the Electoral College votes. Ruling from the bench, U.S. District Judge Mark Cohen of the Northern District of Georgia rejected Trump’s request for an emergency injunction that would have ordered the state legislature or Congress to choose a new slate of electors ahead of Wednesday’s constitutionally mandated congressional count. Unlike nearly all previous election-related legal proceedings, journalists and the general public were unable to listen to the arguments because the president’s legal team refused consent to remote public access. Law&Crime, and several other news organizations including the New York Times , Politico, and Bloomberg requested that the court reconsider the denial. However, Judge Cohen’s chambers told Law&Crime that local rules did not permit remote access to proceedings if one of the parties withholds their consent. The hearing remained open to individuals who went to the courthouse in person. The lawsuit and motion for the injunction—filed against Republican Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger —rehashed a throng of claims that had already been rebuffed or flatly rejected in state and federal courts across the nation. The lawsuit serves as context for Trump’s extraordinary and, some say, possibly criminal call with the Secretary of State over the weekend. Attorneys for Raffensperger and Kemp responded to the lawsuit by arguing that Trump was attempting to undermine the democratic process and emphasizing that Georgia’s election was over, asserting that any further remedies would need to be sought elsewhere. “The election, certification, and casting of ballots are final and over. The matter is now before Congress as set forth in 3 U.S.C. § 15 to count the certified votes. Georgia has completely complied with all requirements under the United States Constitution, federal and state election law,” Georgia’s attorneys wrote in a response filed Monday evening. “Moreover, Plaintiff’s allegation that he has been injured because his election contest has not yet been heard in state court is also not the result of any action by the Defendants. Defendants complied with their statutory obligations to certify the presidential electors in a timely manner. Any delay in the hearing of Plaintiff’s election contest was caused by Plaintiff’s own dilatory actions in pursuing his claim and his improvidently-filed appeal.” According to one spectator who was in the courtroom for Tuesday morning’s hearing, Judge Cohen agreed with Georgia’s attorneys, saying Trump waited too long to file his legal challenge (the state’s election procedures had been in place since March) and post-certification relief can only be provided through congressional intervention. Cohen clarifies that after certification of electoral college slate (the electors themselves), only congress can act. Again, the challenge is now too late. — dr. mondilator, esq. (@mondilator) January 5, 2021 Additionally, while the initial lawsuit relied on an egregious misrepresentations of fact and law, Trump’s attorneys apparently decided to throw yet another malicious and legally spurious assertion into the mix, arguing that Vice President-elect Kamala Harris is ineligible to hold the office . The birther theory, popularized by law professor John Eastman , has been universally panned by legal experts. Judge Cohen said a written opinion would follow his bench ruling. Adam Klasfeld contributed to this report. [image via Alex Wong/Getty Images]
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