Trump-appointed judge dismisses call to give Sidney Powell, Lin Wood, access to voting machine

Lawyers Sidney Powell and Lin Wood, who had filed lawsuits in the state of Georgia for fraud in the 2020 presidential election, on Friday appealed for analysis of the Dominion’s voting machines in the state, which were denied by a federal judge.

President Donald Trump has claimed without evidence, among other things, that Dominion Voting Systems’ voting machines were programmed to return the votes that were cast for him to President-elect Joe Biden. Dominion has denied Trump’s claims. Powell and Wood have publicly declared their agreement with Trump’s claims and have taken legal action to try and prove the claims.

Powell on Wednesday submitted a case asking the court to allow the examination of certain Dominion voting machines by Republican voters. Members of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals were unsure whether they had the authority to review the appeal. Powell wrote a briefing on Friday alleging extenuating circumstances would allow the court to rule on the appeal. Judge Andrew Brasher of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Georgia dismissed the appeal later today. Brasher was appointed to the court by Trump in 2019 and confirmed by the US Senate in February.

“This appeal stems from a last-minute litigation that alleges widespread election-related misconduct and seeks sweeping redress,” Brasher wrote. However, Brasher ruled that his court did not have jurisdiction to hear the appeal.

“Because we have no jurisdiction, the appeal is REJECTED and the motion for
the permissive appeal is DENIED, “the decision concludes.” Because we must dismiss this appeal, the defendants’ conditional cross-appeal is also DISMISSED. All other outstanding motions are DENIED AS MOOT. “

Brasher’s decision was the latest blow to the Trump campaign’s attempts to overturn the election results in Georgia. On Friday, after three ballot recounts, Georgia projected that President-elect Joe Biden had won the state election. According to the Associated Press, Biden won 49.5% of Georgia’s popular vote while Trump got 49.3% of the vote.

Newsweek contacted the Trump campaign for comment.

The Trump campaign on Friday filed a separate lawsuit in Georgia aimed at invalidating the state’s election results. That filing included sworn affidavits from people involved in the voting process in Georgia who alleged fraudulent activity.

“What was tabled today clearly shows that there are literally tens of thousands of illegal votes that have been cast, counted and included in the tables that the Secretary of State is about to certify,” said Ray S. Smith III, senior counsel for the Trump Campaign in a Friday press release. “The massive irregularities, errors and potential fraud violate Georgia’s electoral code, making it impossible to know for sure the actual outcome of the presidential race in Georgia.”

In a Friday statement, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said his office had “found no evidence of widespread fraud” despite multiple recounts.