Trump federal lawsuit over election observers resolved, report

Kadhim Shubber, a reporter for the Financial Times, live-tweeted a U.S. District Court hearing on a legal action brought by President Donald Trump’s campaign dealing with observers at the ballot-counting operation in Philadelphia.

Trump has gone to federal court seeking an injunction against Philadelphia to stop the counting of "any ballots so long as Republican observers are not present".

The dispute is about how close observers can be to the workers counting ballotshttps://t.co/xcwjJOe2m2

— kadhim (＾ｰ^)ノ (@kadhim) November 5, 2020

U.S. District Judge Paul S. Diamond presided over the hearing, which ended with lawyers from each side agreeing on up to 60 observers each for both Democrats and Republicans.

The Trump campaign lawyer began arguing about the # of feet away from the counting tables that their observers had a right to be. Diamond interrupted:

"You don't have the right to be within 100 feet. You have the right maybe to be treated equally as recognised by a state court"

— kadhim (＾ｰ^)ノ (@kadhim) November 5, 2020

adsada

Judge Paul Diamond to the Trump campaign lawyer:

Diamond: Are your observers in the counting room?
Trump campaign: "There's a non zero number of people in the room"

— kadhim (＾ｰ^)ノ (@kadhim) November 5, 2020

Diamond: "I’m asking you as a member of the bar of this court: are people representing the Donald J Trump for president, representing the plaintiffs, in that room?"

Trump campaign lawyer: "Yes."

Diamond: "I'm sorry, then what's your problem?"

— kadhim (＾ｰ^)ノ (@kadhim) November 5, 2020

The Trump campaign lawyer (surname Marcus, didn't catch his first name), chimes in again: "There's one other dimension to this problem".

Diamond, *loudly exhales: "Length and width? Time and space?"

— kadhim (＾ｰ^)ノ (@kadhim) November 5, 2020

Sounds like the Trump campaign lawyer has presented Judge Diamond with a diagram of the counting room.

"Whoever wrote this, don't quit your day job," Diamond jokes.

— kadhim (＾ｰ^)ノ (@kadhim) November 5, 2020

They settle on up to 60 observers each for Democrats and Republicans.

Judge Diamond dismisses the Trump campaign lawsuit without prejudice as moot given the agreement

— kadhim (＾ｰ^)ノ (@kadhim) November 5, 2020

Diamond also admonished the attorneys:

Diamond issued a warning to both parties reminding them if he determined "one side or the other has not acted in good faith" then he had "jurisdiction to police the conduct of parties and counsel before me".

— kadhim (＾ｰ^)ノ (@kadhim) November 5, 2020

He adds:

"If we can show the world that both sides can act reasonably to resolve this, that would be wonderful."

The hearing's over

— kadhim (＾ｰ^)ノ (@kadhim) November 5, 2020