Nevada Supreme Court rejects Trump campaign’s appeal to overturn Biden’s win

- ADVERTISEMENT -

The Nevada Supreme Court unanimously ruled on Tuesday night to reject an appeal from President Donald Trump’s campaign to overturn the state’s election results, the latest loss in the president’s ongoing legal efforts to have states he did not win declare him victorious.

The 6-0 decision from Nevada’s high court came after a lower court gave a full-scale ruling against the Trump campaign’s efforts in the state last week. Judge James T. Russell of the Nevada District Court ruled Friday that there was no evidence supporting the claims of fraud and wrongdoing made by the campaign in a state that President-elect Joe Biden won by more than 33,000 votes.

In a 40-page order from the Nevada Supreme Court late Tuesday, the justices “affirmed” the decision from Russell and said the court would take no action. The court found that the Trump campaign failed to identify “any unsupported factual findings” in Russell’s decision, with the state’s high court concluding that it had also “identified none.”

“To prevail on this appeal, appellants must demonstrate error of law, findings of fact not supported by substantial evidence or an abuse of discretion in the admission or rejection of evidence by the district court,” the order read. “We are not convinced they have done so.”

The ruling in Nevada concluded a day in which the U.S. Supreme Court denied a last-minute attempt to overturn the results in Pennsylvania, landing one of the most significant blows to Trump ahead of the electoral college’s scheduled meeting on Monday to certify the results for Biden.

The court’s brief order denying a requested injunction from Trump’s allies in Pennsylvania, where Biden won by more than 80,000 votes, did not include any reasoning, nor did it note any dissenting votes, reported The Washington Post’s Robert Barnes and Elise Viebeck. It came on the same day Texas Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a sweeping complaint to the high court asking it to overturn the results in Pennsylvania, as well as in the swing states of Georgia, Michigan and Wisconsin.

The Trump campaign’s Nevada lawsuit included a baseless allegations that more than 61,000 people voted twice or from out-of-state. Although Trump campaign lawyer Jesse R. Binnall said last week a “robust body of evidence” supported his claim that the state’s six electoral votes were “stolen” from the president, Nevada Democratic Attorney General Aaron Ford had challenged Trump’s attorneys to present any evidence supporting the unfounded allegations.

“This election is over,” Ford said.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Trump campaign was unsuccessful in its attempt to disqualify a state Supreme Court justice for congratulating Nevada Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske, a Republican, for running an “extraordinarily successful election.” Justice Elissa Cadish voluntarily recused herself from the case, citing her personal relationships with several of the Biden electors, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

In a statement, the Nevada Republican Party said it was “extremely disappointed” with the state Supreme Court’s ruling, accusing the high court of “rushing to judgment.”

“We were not afforded an opportunity to write our brief or argue the case in front of the Supreme Court,” the Nevada GOP said. “Full denial of legitimate due process and appellate rights is truly unprecedented, shocking and extraordinary.”

Ford, the Nevada attorney general, celebrated the decision, tweeting that the Trump campaign “never once presented sufficient evidence of widespread fraud.”

“Yes, they spouted nonsense in the media. But they NEVER backed it up in court,” Ford said. “That’s why they always lost. And that’s why they lost again tonight.”