Thread by @ZoeTillman

New: Another loss for Sidney Powell, this time in Michigan.

The loss is multifaceted:
- state officials immune
- case is moot
- laches (waited too long to sue)
- abstention b/c of state court litigation
- no standing
- unlikely to succeed on the merits
assets.documentcloud.org/documents/7334…

Judge Linda Parker: "Plaintiffs ask this Court to ignore the orderly statutory scheme established to challenge elections and to ignore the will of millions of voters. This, the Court cannot, and will not, do. The People have spoken."

Parker dings Powell for including the words "due process" in pleadings but not backing it up with substantive argument — Powell's gotten in trouble for this before, recall in WI the judge noted she used the words "emergency" and "expedited" but didn't actually ask for that

Meanwhile: A hearing just began in Sidney Powell's election challenge in Georgia on motions to dismiss filed by GA and Dems.

The audio is streaming live here, before Judge Timothy Batten:

Batten notes that on standing, the 11th Circuit over the weekend addressed similar issues in rejecting Lin Wood's Georgia election challenge, see:

https://twitter.com/ZoeTillman/status/1335253519062937600

Joshua Belinfante is arguing for Georgia. He argues GA's laws and process for running the election are constitutional — he says plaintiffs are trying to turn Bush v. Gore on its head by trying to substitute a federal court's power for GA state courts/legislature

Belinfante argues that ultimately what the challengers are asking for just isn't possible — they're asking the court to declare Trump the winner

Just as the lawyer for GA/national Dems Amanda Callais is arguing for dismissal of Sidney Powell's case

https://twitter.com/davidmackau/status/1335966773250822147

Callais argues that granting the relief that the plaintiffs want (to decertify Georgia's election results and basically declare Trump the winner of the state) would itself violate due process

Callais says the judge would be "in good company" in dismissing this case, noting the dozens of election challenges brought by Trump and his supporters nationwide that have failed since Election Day — incl. the one that another GA judge recently rejected (the Lin Wood case)

Sidney Powell is now arguing — she begins by maintaining that the case features mathematical, statistical, computer, expert, testimonial, video and "multiple other means that show abject fraud committed throughout the state of Georgia"

Powell starts to get into her conspiracy theory that voting tech could be compromised, judge stops her and tries to back up to the threshold issues in the motions to dismiss — he asks what to do about the 11th Circuit saying you can't turn back the clock now that GA has certified

Judge questions if the case is moot b/c even if Trump won GA, he'd need to flip other states to win the election. Powell insists election challenges in other states will prevail (so far dozens of legal challenges have failed to meaningfully change results in any state Biden won)

So far Powell is stressing her fraud theories and not really digging in on the issues raised by lawyers for GA/Dems in arguing for dismissal (standing, laches, mootness)

Batten brings it back to standing — he says Powell had a pretty "glib" response to what the 11th Circuit said about federal courts having a limited role to play in election disputes that really should be in state court. Powell insists they're bringing fed constituitonal claims

Powell pivots quickly again away from the substance of issues raised in the motions to dismiss and back to the fraud conspiracy theories, alluding to miltiary intelligence proof, a water leak at the counting center, "unusually packaged" ballots, etc. The judge lets her talk.

It would be an understatement to say that the judge did not seem convinced by Powell's arguments

That was quick: The judge just announced from the bench that he's dismissing Sidney Powell's Georgia election challenge

Batten swiftly eviscerates Powell's case. He says Powell is asking for the most "extraordinary" relief anyone has ever asked a federal court in an election case — to substitute the judge's judgment for the 2M+ Georgia voters who chose Biden.

"And this I am unwilling to do."

Backing up — Batten knocks out Powell's GA case on multiple levels:
- He began by saying that an election challenge like this belongs in state court, not federal court. Federal courts have limited jurisdiction and are not like hospitals with ERs open 24/7 to all comers, he says

- Powell's clients lacked standing because they failed to show they suffered a particular injury. Anyone could have brought these claims, the judge says, and that's a problem (same issue that GOP faced in the 3rd Circuit decision re: PA in Bognet, which came up a few times today)

- Powell also waited far too long to bring this case — it's rooted in a challenge to GA's decision to use the Dominion voting machines, but that admin. decision long predated the election, so they could have brought this months ago, not three weeks post-election, judge says

Batten's ruling from the bench dismissing Powell's GA case is similar to the opinion we got earlier denying Powell's request for emergency relief in MI — detailing all the procedural failings, and concluding with a sweeping rejection of what Powell is trying to get courts to do