I have uploaded the most recent case from Pennsylvania where the Trump campaign's attempt to block certification of the EVs from Pennsylvania was dismissed. slnews.us/pbgl112120a
The basic thrust of the Court's ruling is set forth at the very beginning of its memorandum:
"[T]he Trump Campaign and the Individual Plaintiffs . . . seek to discard millions of votes legally cast by Pennsylvanians from all corners — from Greene County to Pike County,
and everywhere in between. In other words, Plaintiffs ask this Court to disenfranchise almost seven million voters. This Court has been unable to find any case in which a plaintiff has sought such a drastic remedy in the contest of an election,
in terms of the sheer volume of votes asked to be invalidated. One might expect that when seeking such a startling outcome, a plaintiff would come formidably armed with compelling legal arguments and factual proof of rampant corruption, such that this Court would have no option
but to regrettably grant the proposed injunctive relief despite the impact it would have on such a large group of citizens.
"That has not happened. Instead, this Court has been presented with strained legal arguments without merit and speculative accusations,
unpled in the operative complaint and unsupported by evidence. In the United States of America, this cannot justify the disenfranchisement of a single voter, let alone all the voters of its sixth most populated state. Our people, laws, and institutions demand more."
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The IRS has issued Rev. Rul. 2020-27 that addresses the question of the deductibility of expenses paid with the proceeds of PPP loans. The ruling holds that:
A taxpayer that received a covered loan guaranteed under the PPP and paid or incurred certain otherwise deductible expenses listed in section 1106(b) of the CARES Act may not deduct those expenses in the taxable year in which the expenses were paid or incurred
if, at the end of such taxable year, the taxpayer reasonably expects to receive forgiveness of the covered loan on the basis of the expenses it paid or accrued during the covered period,
Justice Alito issued the following order in the case brought in PA by the GOP:
Order issued by Justice Alito: All county boards of election are hereby ordered, pending further order of the Court,
to comply with the following guidance provided by the Secretary of the Commonwealth on October 28 and November 1, namely, (1) that all ballots received by mail after 8:00 p.m. on November 3 be segregated and kept
“in a secure, safe and sealed container separate from other voted ballots,” and (2) that all such ballots, if counted, be counted separately. Pa. Dep’t of State, Pennsylvania Guidance for Mail-in and Absentee Ballots Received
At best, it is disingenuous. It can also be called dishonest.
Here's the problem, under PA state law, the contested ballots have to be counted by a specified date. The prior SCOTUS order in the case required that the contested ballots be sequestered to allow further SCOTUS review.
The PA Sec. of State has issued a directive requiring both that the ballots be sequestered (thus following the SCOTUS order), but also be counted (thus assuring compliance with PA state law).
The attorneys for The Lincoln Project have now responded to the threats of a defamation lawsuit by the attorney for Ivanka and Jared. As I predicted, quite aside from the obvious First Amendment hurdles any such claim would face,
the damages issue is particularly problematic. Here's the killer from the LP's lawyers at fn. 8:
The Second Circuit has held that 'a plaintiff's reputation with respect to a specific subject may be so badly tarnished
that he cannot be further injured by allegedly false statements on that subject." In one of the seminal libel-proof -plaintiff cases, the U.S. District for the Southern District of New York held that mobster John "Boobie" Cerasini had a reputation so "tarnished"
I have posted the DOJ's lawsuit against Ms. Wolkoff, former aide of Melania Trump. One question leaps to mind: Did the guys who signed off on this lawsuit actually go to law school?
If they did, they would have learned in the first semester course on contracts that a contract cannot be gratuitous. Yet, they seek to enforce a document entitled "Gratuitous Service Agreement" and which provides, in part, that
Wolkoff is "not an employee of the Federal government for any purpose."
Perhaps they should read Fed.R.Civ.P. 11(b) which provides, in pertinent part, that by signing the complaint they certify
The Trump campaign lost another attempt to suppress voting, this time in Pennsylvania.
As set forth by the Court, there were three claims presented: "First, whether the use of so-called “drop
boxes” for mail-in ballots is unconstitutional, given the lack of guidance or mandates that those drop boxes have security guards to man them.
Second, whether the Secretary’s guidance as to mail-in ballots—specifically, her guidance that county election boards should not reject mail-in ballots where the voter’s signature does not match the one on file—is unconstitutional.