BREAKING: Federal judge in Georgia rules from the bench. Kraken lawsuit dismissed.
Judge BATTEN says the plaintiffs — GOP electors — lack standing. They waited too long to file the suit. And the issue should be litigated in state court, not federal.
"They ask the court to order the secretary of state to decertify the election results as if such a mechanism even exists, and I find that it does not," Batten says.
Batten called Powell's demand to overturn the election "perhaps the most extraordinary relief ever sought in connection with an election."
"They want this court to substitute its judgment for 2 and a half million voters who voted for Joe Biden. And this I am unwilling to do."
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BREAKING: Judge Sullivan dismisses the FLYNN case, declaring it moot after the Trump pardon.
WOW: Sullivan says the circumstances of DOJ's effort to dismiss the Flynn case were so unusual that it would likely have overcome "the strong presumption of regularity" that attaches to DOJ decisions
Sullivan makes the point that was long expected: it doesn't matter that FBI agents didn't think Flynn was lying at the time. Or that Comey wasn't sure either.
GOP speaker in Arizona says Trump effort to overturn election is an affront to lawmakers' oath of office.
"It would violate ... the basic principles of republican government and the rule of law if we attempted to nullify the people's vote based on unsupported theories of fraud."
BUT: Dozens of Republicans in Pennsylvania's legilsature — including House speaker — are urging their congressional delegation to challenge Joe Biden's win in the state on Jan. 6.
It comes amid a growing pressure campaign from Trump/Giuliani. Story TK.
JUST IN: In sentencing memo, attorneys for Kevin CLINESMITH — who pleaded guilty for altering an email related to Carter Page FISA — seek sentence of probation.
His career and reputation are "in shambles" they say, and that's punishment enough.
The memo describes Clinesmith's conduct as a "grievous mistake" — a decision to "cut a corner" rather than intentionally lie in the process of surveilling Page.
UHH: One of the character witnesses for Clinesmith wants the judge to know that Clinesmith:
-Had his Bachelor Party at the Daytona 500
-Once organized a Taylor Swift Madness Contest to replace March Madness canceled bc of Covid
The errors have been significant. In a Wisconsin suit, they sought video footage from a voting center in Detroit. An affidavit in MI named a nonexistent county. And a legal expert mixed up MI communities with MN ones.
Powell acknowledges the errors and says they’re simply the result of being human and relying on a small team working around the clock. Her full statement:
NEW: Barr appointed DURHAM as a full special counsel -- with the same powers Mueller had -- on Oct. 19.
The appointment order:
Relatedly: Today is the three-year anniversary of Michael Flynn's guilty plea.
NEW: AG Barr's appointment of Durham as special counsel — kept secret for six weeks — creates a series of tripwires for the incoming Biden administration and whoever he designates to be attorney general.