Posted on 12/07/2016 5:41:14 AM PST by randita
THE GREEN Party-backed push for a recount of Pennsylvania's presidential election results will get its day in federal court.
U.S. District Judge Paul S. Diamond on Tuesday ordered a Friday hearing to consider the party's request for a forensic examination of voting machines used across the state and a statewide recount of paper ballots.
The proceeding will take place just days before the Dec. 13 federal deadline for the state to certify its votes, setting up a tight window for the examination should the judge allow it to proceed.
"This is a step toward ensuring that voters of this state know their voices are heard," said Ilann Maazel, a lawyer for former Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein. "We hope the court grants this injunction immediately, to allow the timely completion of this effort."
Stein has spearheaded the recount effort in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, Rust Belt states that provided crucial and narrow victories to President-elect Donald Trump on his march to the White House. Her attorneys have argued that the electronic voting machines used in Pennsylvania are highly susceptible to computer hacking but have offered no evidence to suggest that any manipulation occurred during the Nov. 8 vote.
Instead, they point to reports of hacking attempts on voting systems in other states such as Arizona and Illinois and the theft and publication of emails from top-ranking officials at the Democratic National Committee this year.
The Republican Party and Trump, who won Pennsylvania by about 44,000 votes, have opposed the recount push.
(Excerpt) Read more at philly.com ...
I can’t even take READING what she said.
Any FReepers who have heard her deserve some kind of medal.
I HATE HER.
Then why not go after states like Illinois or Minnesota or Nevada? I guess Arkancide is a factor to consider, eh?
Liars are such Lawyers....
Paul Diamond will shut it down.
No that is not a "tight" window, that is a patently impossible window. It took Wisconsin over a week and Wisconsin is much smaller than Pennsylvania. Even if ordered on Friday, the recount could not conceivable begin until Monday. That is why there is no way the Judge will order a recount (well that and he's a Bush appointee as well).
It won’t be Diamond but another probably leftist judge who has been assigned to the case.
Scheduling the hearing for Friday instead of immediately pretty much tells you what the judge thinks of this matter.
I’ve read PA will certify tomorrow...
Lol exactly!!
No.
No I’d drive my car Straight off the Verrazano if I heard those two voices at the same time.
It’s only five minutes from my house.
Diamond will say no with extreme prejudice.
While we can take nothing for granted, there is some optimism in the fact that Judge Diamond set the hearing for Friday. He is, no doubt, very aware of the Safe Harbor deadline and the complexities of statewide recount and audit.
Contrast that to Judge Goldsmith’s (MI) extraordinary Sunday hearing and early AM Monday ruling to immediately start the recount there.
Additionally, at one rating site (http://www.therobingroom.com/Judge.aspx?ID=706), Judge Diamond receives low marks from defense attorneys and civil litigants. As a retired federal criminal investigator, I see that as a clue that the Judge is a no-nonsense, matter of fact jurist. This would be another positive sign given the nefarious nature of Dr. Stein’s suit.
Also, consider Judge Diamond’s reasoning in an election observer case in NOV (http://www.politico.com/blogs/under-the-radar/2016/11/voter-intimidation-injunction-pennsylvania-230901). “Philadelphia-based U.S. District Court Judge Paul Diamond said the Democrats failed to produce any real evidence that pro-Trump groups were planning to intimidate those intent on exercising their right to vote.
“Plaintiff has not shown that any Defendant has engaged or will engage in voter intimidation in this District,” Diamond wrote in a 16-page opinion issued Monday afternoon. Both judges held hearings on the Democrats’ motions earlier in the day.
Diamond was harshly critical of the Democrats for approaching the court with so few days to go before the election.”
Again, nothing guaranteed. Nonetheless, good indicators that he will not order a recount/audit in Penn.
EVERYONE in this house cannot stand her name .... we have to hear it & sometimes say it when getting/receiving updates on the recount situations but it’s usually preceded by expletives. If the judge dissolves his TRO this morning & the count stops, I have no doubt the wicked !itch will probably pursue it in a higher court. She’s doing great damage to herself, the Green Party & the Dems ... Hilly’s favorable rating is sinking, too (Trump’s going up!) so I guess that’s the “glass half full” part of this, but it’s still keeping my stomach in knots.
A good explanation of the confusing court situation:
http://hotair.com/archives/2016/12/06/breaking-michigan-appellate-court-tells-state-board-to-reject-stein-recount/
Oops - I’m thinking MI & this thread is PA .... still, shutting MI recount down today would be a good thing. PA should be shut down as well - fingers crossed, prayers being said, TUMS bottle at the ready!
Wow. Lots of courts and judges involved. Wish Scalia was around just to be safe, but there’s really ZERO chance of anything significant happening.
Yeah, my brother and I HATE HER.
A few of my friends and I were eating in Manhattan restaurant the other day, and we spoke Italian but STEIN and HILLARY and OBAMA were perfectly understandable. Many knew it was in a bad context and gave some nasty looks lol
We RARELY speak Italian in public but in cases like this, it’s fun :)
Voluntaryist wrote:
“I’ve read PA will certify tomorrow...”
Can you post the link or tweet ?
Additional reasoning from Judge Diamond in the earlier case re Clinton’s efforts to keep Trump supporters away from the polls on election day:
“Plaintiff has not explained what it learned in the last month or even the last week that created emergent conditions. On the contrary, Plaintiff has long known of the acts and statements on which it bases its claims,” wrote Diamond, an appointee of President George W. Bush. “I am thus compelled to base a ruling that could restrict Defendants’ Election Day speech and conduct on media reports because Plaintiff has contrived to transform this litigation into a mad scramble.”
CDiamond said the Democrats painted some evidence in a misleading light, such as a Bloomberg News report about “voter suppression” efforts undertaken by the Trump campaign. He said it was clear from the context that the Trump official was talking about highlighting storylines or themes that would undercut Hillary Clinton’s support
“In context, these are not ‘suppression’ efforts at all, and they do not appear designed to threaten or intimidate voters. Rather, they are coarse efforts to convince Secretary Clinton’s likely supporters not to vote for her,” the judge wrote.
(http://www.politico.com/blogs/under-the-radar/2016/11/voter-intimidation-injunction-pennsylvania-230901)
I especially like his comment that the Plaintiff (Clinton) “has contrived to transform this litigation into a mad scramble.”
Kind of like Dr. Stein’s last minute efforts...
So what does happen if the recount goes ahead but can’t be completed in time? Does the final result default to the original certified one? It’s hard (but not impossible) to believe that an entire state can be disenfranchised by the action of a few lunatics.
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