An attorney for the Trump campaign admitted in court on Tuesday that a lawsuit against the local elections board is not alleging election fraud.
Trump campaign attorney Jonathan S. Goldstein made the statement while arguing that the Montgomery County Board of Elections must halt the counting of 592 mail-in ballots.
During the oral arguments, the judge asked Goldstein if the campaign is alleging fraud.
“Your Honor, accusing people of fraud is a pretty big step,” Goldstein said. “And it is rare that I call somebody a liar, and I am not calling the Board or the DNC or anybody else involved in this a liar.”
“I am asking you a specific question,” the judge pressed, “and I am looking for a specific answer. Are you claiming that there is any fraud in connection with these 592 disputed ballots?”
“To my knowledge at present, no,” Goldstein replied.
“Are you claiming that there is any undue or improper influence upon the elector with respect to these 592 ballots?” the judge asked.
“To my knowledge at present, no,” Goldstein conceded.
The National Review, a conservative publication, noted that Trump campaign lawsuits like the one in Montgomery County have been ending “not with a bang, but a whimper.”
“It is one thing to fume on Twitter that there is a sinister effort to steal an election; it is another thing to assert that sweeping claim in a court of law, before a judge, under penalty of perjury and/or disbarment,” National Review correspondent Jim Geraghty wrote.
Today in court, a Pennsylvania judge asked a lawyer for Trump point-blank whether he was alleging fraud.
(Full transcript here https://t.co/K2mfxFbtGZ) pic.twitter.com/y17v0PFkMx— Marc E. Elias (@marceelias) November 11, 2020
