We're 7 days from Electoral College electors meeting. Here's the news that you'll want to know: (1) federal judge dismisses Georgia lawsuit; election results for Biden expected to be re-certified today
(2) Supreme Court Justice moves up deadline for Pennsylvania election lawsuit response
(3) President Trump tells Georgians to turn out the vote for Senate run-off elections
And today is "a date which will live in infamy": Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day. The Pearl Harbor National Memorial livestreamed a ceremony this afternoon.
As President Trump wrote in his proclamation for the day: "Today, we memorialize all those lost on December 7, 1941, declare once again that our Nation will never forget these valiant heroes, and resolve as firmly as ever that their memory and spirit will survive for as long as our Nation endures."
Federal judge dismisses Georgia lawsuit, and election results for Biden expected to be re-certified today. "U.S. District Judge Timothy Batten dismissed the lawsuit, which was bought by former Trump attorney Sidney Powell in an attempt to decertify Georgia’s election. 'They want this court to substitute its judgment for the 2.5 million voters who voted for Biden,' Batten said in court in Atlanta. 'This I’m unwilling to do.'" (Atlanta Journal Constitution) • A federal judge dismissed the lawsuit that Sidney Powell filed in Georgia. The suit had alleged "ballot-stuffing, vote-flipping and voting machine tampering," but the state attorneys responded that "those accusations weren’t backed up by facts."
• The decision was on procedural grounds, as CNBC reported: "Instead, the judge granted motions to dismiss the lawsuit on the grounds that the suit did not belong in federal court. Batten repeatedly suggested that Powell could have filed her lawsuit in state court, and he cited an federal appeals court ruling that 'federal courts don’t entertain post-election conduct, excuse me, contests about vote-counting misconduct.' Batten also said he found that the plaintiffs in the case did not have legal standing to bring the lawsuit."
• The Georgia Secretary of State said he would re-certify the presidential election results today. That will give the state's 16 Electoral College votes to Biden.
Supreme Court Justice moves up deadline for Pennsylvania election lawsuit response. "But on Sunday, Alito moved up the schedule in Kelly’s case by a day, ordering state officials to respond by 9 a.m. Tuesday, instead. The difference of just a day is significant, given that the previous deadline of Wednesday fell one day after what is known as the 'safe harbor date,' the federal cutoff date for states to resolve any remaining election disputes and lock in their slate of electors for the Dec. 14 Electoral College vote." (Philadelphia Inquirer) • Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito moved up the deadline for Pennsylvania to respond to an election-related lawsuit by one day. The response must now be completed at 9am tomorrow -- instead of by Wednesday.
• Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA) had filed suit to challenge Pennsylvania's expanded voting by mail procedures. The suit argued that it should have been completed "through the constitutional amendment process, which would have required a statewide ballot question, among other procedural steps" -- instead of a vote by the state legislature.
• Rep. Kelly's lawsuit asked that all mail-in ballots in the state be disqualified, but the Pennsylvania Supreme Court rejected that.
President Trump tells Georgians to turn out the vote for Senate run-off elections. "'The voters of Georgia will determine which party runs every committee, writes every piece of legislation, controls every single taxpayer dollar,' Trump said Saturday night in Valdosta. 'Very simply, you will decide whether your children will grow up in a socialist country or whether they will grow up in a free country.'" (Washington Free Beacon) • President Trump hosted a rally in Georgia for Republican Senate candidates on Saturday night. The state has two run-off Senate races on January 5th.
• The President called on Georgians to turn out the vote, saying: "That's what Nancy Pelosi and [Chuck] Schumer want you to do—stay at home. If you want to do something … to the Democrats, you show up and vote in record numbers."
• Some supporters of the President had called on conservatives to boycott the January 5th elections. President Trump addressed that directly, saying: "Friends of mine say we are not going to vote because we are angry about the presidential election. Don't listen to my friends."
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