“Free, fair elections are the lifeblood of our democracy. Charges of unfairness are serious. But calling an election unfair does not make it so,” Stephanos Bibas wrote in a scathing opinion on Friday.
The three-judge panel for the 3rd US Circuit Court of Appeals denied the Trump campaign's effort to Trump’s Democratic rival, Joe Biden, from being declared the winner of Pennsylvania.
"Charges of unfairness are serious. But calling an election unfair does not make it so. Charges require specific allegations and then proof. We have neither here," wrote Bibas, who was nominated by Trump.
The case could still be appealed to the US Supreme Court.
"The Campaign never alleges that any ballot was fraudulent or cast by an illegal voter," wrote Bibas. "It never alleges that any defendant treated the Trump campaign or its votes worse than it treated the Biden campaign or its votes. Calling something discrimination does not make it so. The Second Amended Complaint still suffers from these core defects, so granting leave to amend would have been futile."
Trump has refused to concede defeat in the election and mounted multiple legal challenges to reverse the results in several key states. Biden was declared the projected winner.
Last week, US District Judge Matthew Brann in Williamsport, Pennsylvania dismissed a lawsuit which sought to overturn the results in the state, calling Trump’s legal claim a “Frankenstein’s Monster.”
Trump has refused to concede defeat in the election and mounted multiple legal challenges to reverse the results in several key states. Biden was declared the projected winner.
However, his campaign’s efforts have so far met with little success in the courtroom or on the ground.