Thread by @ZoeTillman

New: The Trump campaign filed a three-page letter in the 3rd Circuit this morning requesting oral argument in its big case trying to undo Biden's win in PA: assets.documentcloud.org/documents/7332…

There is a lot to unpack here, too much for one tweet, so bear with me

The 3rd Circuit doesn't let lawyers who aren't members of the court's bar to appear unless they're pro bono. Trump's legal team still asks to let Rudy Giuliani argue, saying he hasn't been able to get the "necessary certifications due to Covid-19 complications"

Trump's lawyers write that given how many people voted for him, the claims "should be heard on the merits" — but recall this case is not up on appeal about the merits. The campaign is asking for emergency review of the judge denying its request to file a 2nd amended complaint

They contend oral argument would be helpful to address issues raised by PA, the DNC, and other parties in briefs filed yesterday, which they then touch on in a set of footnotes

The first footnote argues there was no undue delay in filing the 2nd amended complaint b/c given the shifting makeup of the campaign's legal team, there was "confusion" that led to the filing of the 1st amended complaint, which removed sections and a number of counts

Recall the 1st amended complaint was filed after the 3rd Circuit ruled in another election-related case, Bognet, and that opinion significantly undercut the campaign's theory of standing, which Giuliani acknowledged during arguments before the district court

Footnote #4 argues the case isn't moot now that PA has certified the election results, even though the relief sought in the 1AC is to stop certification from happening (the 2AC that they want to pursue alternatively asks for the state legislature to choose electors)

They write that the certification of election results was "allegedly issued" by PA Gov. Wolf, but the state did, in fact, certify the results. They also contend that results can be "decertified" by the courts, but recall that is not relief that they request in the complaint

Generally speaking, once a case is up on appeal, you cannot start introducing new evidence/claims — the appellate judges are reviewing the record from below. Trump's lawyers note the district court didn't address the question of decertifying election results

So, now we wait to see what the 3rd Circuit does. On Monday when it set the briefing schedule, the court had only said it would "advise if oral argument desired"