Trump election lawsuit ‘smacks of racism’, Wisconsin judge says
The US president is trying to throw out 221,000 votes in Wisconsin in another longshot attempt to flip the election.
Published On 12 Dec 2020
A lawsuit filed by Donald Trump’s campaign to throw out more than 221,000 votes in the state of Wisconsin “smacks of racism”, a Wisconsin Supreme Court judge said on Saturday.
Justice Jill Karofsky’s biting condemnation came after Trump lawyer Jim Troupis made his arguments in the case, the most recent in a string of long-shot attempts by Trump’s team to overturn the US presidential election results.
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To date, the president and his allies have not been successful in any of their litigation efforts.
“This lawsuit, Mr Troupis, smacks of racism,” Karofsky said of the case, which seeks to throw out an array of mail-in ballots cast in Dane and Milwaukee Counties, areas that contain the largest minority populations in the state.
“I do not know how you can come before this court and possibly ask for a remedy that is unheard of in US history,” Karofsky added. “It is not normal.”
Wisconsin’s highest court had agreed to take the case at Trump’s urgent request Friday, soon after a state judge ruled against him.
On Monday, the Electoral College will cast their votes, with Wisconsin’s 10 electoral votes set to go to President-elect Joe Biden.
Biden won the state by about 20,000 votes, with recounts in Dane and Milwaukee Counties requested by the Trump campaign reaffirming that margin.
Also on Saturday, a US federal judge rejected a lawsuit filed by Trump that sought to have the court order Wisconsin’s state legislature name Trump the victor in the state.
WE HAVE JUST BEGUN TO FIGHT!!!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 12, 2020
US District Judge Brett Ludwig dismissed the lawsuit, saying Trump’s arguments “fail as a matter of law and fact”.
On Friday, Trump, who has continued to falsely claim that widespread voter fraud took place in the election, suffered one of the most crushing blows to date in his efforts to overturn the vote results.
The US Supreme Court refused to hear a Texas lawsuit that sought to flip the results in four battleground states in favour of Trump.
Trump excoriated the ruling on Twitter, saying on Saturday, “We have just begun to fight”.
Source: Al Jazeera and news agencies