Jon Swaine

The suit, in which Trump sought to block the certification of the state’s election results, made “strained legal arguments without merit,” District Judge Matthew W. Brann wrote.

The former U.S. attorney came under heavy criticism from opposing counsel and appeared unable to answer several questions from the judge about legal technicalities.

The agreement to move the vote certification process forward came as the Trump campaign has faced a string of failures in its effort to overturn the result of the election through the courts.

The president is brooding behind the scenes about the state of his campaign’s legal challenges while refusing the pleas of some advisers to commit to a peaceful transfer of power to President-elect Joe Biden.

The campaign removed an allegation that more than 600,000 votes should be invalidated, capitulating on one of its most aggressive legal claims.

The participation of administration officials in the Voter Integrity Fund shows the extent of the efforts by President Trump’s allies to justify his unfounded allegations of widespread ballot fraud.

The former vice president should receive intelligence briefings, several Republicans said, despite the president’s claims that he is the winner.

GOP officials in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Georgia are being pressed to take more drastic measures to help President Trump.

Even the president’s most publicly pugilistic advisers are concerned about the lack of evidence of widespread electoral fraud.

The president’s allies pushed unsubstantiated claims their observers at Philadelphia vote counting were barred.