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The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) recently launched a pilot program to assess just how useful delivery drones are for hauling critical cargo to surface ships, read a US Navy press release. 

NAWCAD engineers and military pilots are set to evaluate a commercially procured logistics Unmanned Air System (UAS) prototype – called the Blue Water Maritime Logistics UAS – for long-range naval ship-to-ship and ship-to-shore cargo transport. 

“The Blue Water logistics UAS will be further developed and tested by the Navy, for the Navy,” said NAWCAD Commander Rear Adm. John Lemmon.

“NAWCAD has organic talent and facilities you can’t find anywhere else. Combined with increased acquisition freedom granted by Congress, this effort shows how we’re doing business differently,” Lemmon said. 

“This requirement is unlike other cargo requirements that online retailers like Amazon are exploring,” said Blue Water’s project lead, Bill Macchione. 

“Naval cargo transport requires vehicles that can successfully operate through difficult environments that include heavy winds, open water, and pitching vessels at sea,” Macchione said. 

On the modern battlefield, cargo deliveries to warships are usually conducted via boats and or helicopters. The drone will revolutionize the delivery of critical goods to military vessels. Testing starts in early 2021 at Naval Air Station Patuxent River. 

Blue Water logistics UAS can autonomously haul 20 pounds of cargo for a maximum distance of 25 miles. 

The announcement of the Blue Water logistics UAS pilot program comes as the Navy recently delivered supplies to a nuclear submarine for the first time using a drone. 

Readers may recall, in September, a helicopter drone for private industry flew a 3D-printed part to an offshore gas platform off the coast of Norway. 

In the next couple of years, the surge in flying drones will easily disrupt mobility and transportation. As shown above, the military and private corporations are already testing and or have implemented drones into their logistical chains. 

Authored by Lawrence Franklin via The Gatestone Institute,

One of China’s most significant advantages in the race to dominate future hi-tech industrial production, among just about everything else, is its chokehold on “rare earth materials” (REM). These are materials — and the raw minerals from which they are extracted and processed — vital to the manufacture, for instance, of advanced weapons, fossil-free alternative energy systems, communication devices, computer products, and microelectronic networks.

It is an area in which China has already established dominance . The Chinese Communist Party’s near monopoly on most of these 17 rare earth materials is by now a US national security vulnerability of enormous strategic importance. China’s October 13 decision to curtail the export of these vitally needed rare earth materials should serve as an urgent warning to the US to seriously begin developing an independent supply chain of these materials.

The good news is that the Trump Administration had the foresight in 2017 to issue an Executive Order to begin the process of decoupling the US from its dependency on the Communist Chinese regime for REM. This Executive Order was followed up in early October by a Presidential declaration of a national emergency in mining, in an apparent effort to establish a US domestic REM stockpile for military requirements. China’s announced intent to ban the export of strategic REM to foreign countries could spur the US quickly and fully to implement President Trump’s directive to establish an independent REM supply chain. The Defense Department has not acted with the sense of urgency demanded by the President. In short, the DOD is dragging its feet. Consequently, if US-China relations plummet to the point where conflict appears imminent, America’s military would be disadvantaged should the Chinese decide to sever exports of REM to the US.

Presently, the US Air Force’s most advanced fighter jet, the F-35, requires about 1,000 pounds of rare earth materials, most of which are presently acquired from China. The US is also dependent on China for REM required for laser guidance missiles, other advanced weapons systems and space satellites.

Many US quality-of-life domestic products — many medical devices, such as scanners, electric automobiles, and fluorescent lighting — also rely on the availability of the Chinese REM.

To decouple, the US could establish new supply lines with countries that have unexploited deposits of REM. These include Australia, Afghanistan, India, Russia, Brazil and countries in Central Asia. The US also could capitalize on its considerable undersea technological expertise to extract REM deposits from the ocean floor. US allies, such as NATO nations, could invest in independent REM supply lines as well as create stockpiles of REM to lessen their own vulnerability regarding China,

The US, to nurture a national and internationally competitive industry, could also borrow a tactic from China by subsidizing domestic companies to invest in REM extraction and processing enterprises. Current REM sites in the US that have the potential to expand rapidly, particularly if the government provides financial and tax-free incentives, include Elk Creek Mine in Nebraska, Bokan Mine in Alaska, and Bear Lodge Mine in Wyoming. Presently, the most profitable REM site in the US is Mountain Pass Mine in California. Potentially, the most valuable US site is an area in West Texas which contains 16 of the 17 known rare earth materials.

Some of these REM and their related end products include:

• Barite – fracking process for natural gas extraction

• Cerium – camera lenses for telescopes

• Dysprosium – magnets in electric vehicles and wind turbines

• Erbium – nuclear power plant rods

• Europium – lasers

• Gallium – semiconductors

• Lanthanum – specialized lighting

• Lithium – batteries

• Praseodymium – jet airplane engines

• Promethium – batteries for nuclear powered systems

• Yttrium – laser-guided missiles and bombs.

In addition to these REM, there are other critical materials that the US no longer produces. Consequently, industries are forced to import these items. An additional benefit is that the natural gas extracted by fracking helps to keep the US energy independent. Graphite, a necessary ingredient for smartphone batteries, is another critical substance.

If the US were to decide that breaking China’s monopolistic stranglehold on most of these materials was a national priority, Washington could also build REM processing plants and supply chains. Not only would these investments provide jobs, but also only then could the US proceed to transform these critical REM oxides into metallic alloys from which end products are created.

If the US remains dependent on China for REM, there may come a time when America might be forced to sacrifice a foreign policy interest — a dilemma experienced by Japan, also heavily dependent on China for REM. When China and Japan became involved in a maritime fishing dispute, Beijing cut off shipments of REM to its neighbor. The dispute was settled only when Tokyo pleaded with China to resume the export of REM and the Japanese Coast Guard in the East China Sea released the captain of a Chinese trawler that had been fishing in disputed waters. The US would do well to avoid a similar predicament by quickly decoupling its economy from dependency on China for rare earth materials — and if possible, from everything else.

The virus pandemic – with its temporary and permanent store closures, strict social distancing requirements, e-commerce boom, and supply chain disruption – since March has fueled uncertainty among US retailers as many find themselves in a $52 billion hole.

Bloomberg, citing new data via CoStar Group Inc., outlines how restaurants, gyms, and other businesses have accumulated insurmountable rent payments that have been deferred for months. This has resulted in landlords demanding outstanding balances be immediately paid, could drive some retailers into bankruptcy.

“You’re going to have big bubbles that are going to be hitting next year or even in the fourth quarter,” said Andy Graiser, co-president of A&G Real Estate Partners, an advisory firm. “I’m not sure if they are going to be able to make those payments in addition to their existing rent.”

The problem with overdue rents, totaling $52 billion as of November, is that retail sales growth in October slumped and is expected to wane into year-end. 

Furthermore, coronavirus cases are exponentially increasing in almost every US state. Local governments across the country are reimposing strict social distancing measures that will stymie retail sales and increase the threat of a double dip recession. 

CoStar reveals the amount of rent collected from retailers rose from 54% at the end of April to 86% this month. Only 79% of rent due this month for malls was collected.

“It’s going to take a period of years, not months, to get through this,” said Michael Hirschfeld, vice chairman at JLL, a real estate services firm.

From Signet Jewelers Ltd. to Red Robin Gourmet Burgers Inc. to Bed Bath and Beyond, Bloomberg lists the major retailers who have deferred rent payments. Their unpaid rents total in the tens of millions of dollars per company – the question, with slumping retail sales and a virus pandemic that continues to rage – how will these retailers ever pay back past rents? 

Signet Jewelers Ltd., for one, deferred about $78 million of its rent payments, according to a September quarterly filing. In its most recent quarterly filing, Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. said it’s held back $50.6 million in rent payments and is in negotiations with landlords, while Francesca’s Holdings Corp. has said it owed $14.6 million in deferred rents and related costs as of Aug. 1. The women’s clothing chain has since said it plans to shutter about 140 locations by the end of January and that it’s in danger of financial collapse.

Red Robin Gourmet Burgers Inc., meanwhile, said that it’s received default notices from some landlords after it stopped making full payments in April. Chief Financial Officer Lynn Schweinfurth told investors on a Nov. 5 call that the restaurant chain had negotiated amendments for about half of its leases by the end of its third quarter and continues in talks for the rest.

Many of these unpaid bills won’t go away, but are instead being pushed into next year. Signet said it plans to pay back its overdue rent by the middle of next year, while Francesca’s plans to repay the amount over the course of next year, it said in a quarterly filing in September, and is asking landlords for more concessions.

Representatives for Bed Bath and Beyond, Francesca’s, and Red Robin didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. A representative for Signet didn’t have a comment beyond recent filings. -Bloomberg 

Earlier this month, deferred rents and a tidal wave of tenants exiting leases helped two mall REITs, Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust and CBL & Associates Properties file for Chapter 11 protection – together the two REITs account for 87 million square feet of real estate across the US. 

Even though collections are improving at high-quality malls – mall giant Simon Property Group Inc. only collected 85% of rents in the third quarter, up from 72% in the previous quarter. Brookfield Property Partners LP said it collected 75% of rents from mall tenants over the same quarter. 

Jay Indyke, a lawyer who chairs Cooley LLP’s restructuring practice, said landlords and lenders are willing to make accommodations out of court to resolve overdue rent payments because of the recent news of a promising vaccine. 

“There are certainly some players that are willing to at least convert some of their debt to equity,” Indyk said.

While the brick and mortar retail “apocalypse” was already a problem for the US economy ahead of the virus pandemic thanks to the destructive forces of Amazon and the e-commerce boom, the pandemic continues to complicate the outlook for retailers that may extend the bankruptcy wave well into 2021. 

Authored by Jonathan Turley,

We have been discussing the campaign of The Lincoln Project and others to harass and abuse lawyers who represent the Trump campaign or other parties bringing election challenges. Similar campaigns have targeted election officials who object to counting irregularities.  Now, the Michigan Attorney General and others are suggesting that Republicans who oppose certification or even meet with President Donald Trump on the issue could be criminally investigated or charged. Once again, the media is silent on this clearly abusive use of the criminal code target members of the opposing party in their raising objections under state law.

Michigan AG Dana Nessel

On Friday afternoon, leaders of Michigan’s Republican-controlled state legislature met with Trump in the White House at his invitation.  My column today explores the difficulty in any strategy to trigger an electoral college fight. However, the objections from legislators could focus on an host of sworn complaints from voters or irregularities in voting counts. I remain skeptical of the sweeping claims made by some Trump lawyers and I was highly critical of Rudy Giuliani’s global communist conspiracy claim at the press conference this week. State legislators have a right to raise electoral objections and seek resolution in the legislative branch.

According to the Washington Post, Dana Nessel “is conferring with election law experts on whether officials may have violated any state laws prohibiting them from engaging in bribery, perjury and conspiracy.”  It is same weaponization of the criminal code for political purposes that we have seen in the last four years against Trump.  Notably, the focus is the same discredited interpretation used against Trump and notably not adopted by the impeachment-eager House Judiciary Committee: bribery.

In Politico, Richard Primus wrote that these legislators should not attend a meeting with Trump because “it threatens the two Michigan legislators, personally, with the risk of criminal investigation.”

This ridiculous legal claims is based on the bribery theory:

The danger for Shirkey and Chatfield, then, is that they are being visibly invited to a meeting where the likely agenda involves the felony of attempting to bribe a public official.

Under Michigan law, any member of the Legislature who “corruptly” accepts a promise of some beneficial act in return for exercising his authority in a certain way is “forever disqualified to hold any public office” and “shall be guilty of a felony, punishable by imprisonment in the state prison not more than 10 years[.]”

We repeatedly discussed this theory during the Trump presidency. As I have previously written, a leading proponent has been former prosecutor and Washington Post columnist Randall D. Eliason, who insisted that “allegations of a wrongful quid pro quo are really just another way of saying that there was a bribe … it’s bribery if a quid pro quo is sought with corrupt intent, if the president is not pursuing legitimate U.S. policy but instead is wrongfully demanding actions by Ukraine that would benefit him personally.” Eliason further endorsed the House report and assured that “The legal and factual analysis of bribery and honest services fraud in the House report is exactly right” and “outlines compelling evidence of federal criminal violations.” 

The theory was never “exactly” or even remotely right, as evidenced by the decision not to use it as a basis for impeachment. And yet, it’s back. Indeed, the greatest danger of the theory was not that it would ever pass muster in the federal court system but that it would be used (as here) in the political system to criminalize policy and legal disagreements. (Eliason recently defended the attacks on fellow lawyers who are represented those challenging election results or practices).

In my testimony, I went into historical and legal detail to explain why this theory was never credible.  While it was gleefully presented by papers like the Washington Post, it ignored case law that rejected precisely this type of limitless definition of the offense.  As I told the House Judiciary Committee, the Supreme Court has repeatedly narrowed the scope of the statutory definition of bribery, including distinctions with direct relevance to the current controversy in cases like McDonnell v. United States, where the Court overturned the conviction of former Virginia governor Robert McDonnell. Chief Justice John Roberts eviscerated what he called the “boundless interpretation of the federal bribery statute.” The Court explained the such “boundless interpretations” are inimical to constitutional rights because they deny citizens the notice of what acts are presumptively criminal: “[U]nder the Government’s interpretation, the term ‘official act’ is not defined ‘with sufficient definiteness that ordinary people can understand what conduct is prohibited,’ or ‘in a manner that does not encourage arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement.’” 

I will not repeat the litany of cases rejecting this type of broad interpretation. However, the case law did not matter then and it does not matter now to those who believe that the criminal code is endless flexible to meet political agenda.

It doesn’t even matter that the Supreme Court reaffirmed prior rejections of such broad interpretations in a recent unanimous ruling written by Justice Elena Kagan. In Kelly v. United States, the Supreme Court threw out the convictions in the “Bridgegate” case involving the controversial closing of lanes on the George Washington Bridge to create traffic problems for the mayor of Fort Lee, N.J., who refused to endorse then-Gov. Chris Christie. The Court observed:

“That requirement, this Court has made clear, prevents these statutes from criminalizing all acts of dishonesty by state and local officials. Some decades ago, courts of appeals often construed the federal fraud laws to “proscribe[] schemes to defraud citizens of their intangible rights to honest and impartial government.” McNally, 483 U. S., at 355. This Court declined to go along. The fraud statutes, we held in McNally, were “limited in scope to the protection of property rights.” Id., at 360. They did not authorize federal prosecutors to “set[] standards of disclosure and good government for local and state officials.” Ibid.”

That is the argument that I raised in the impeachment against the proposed articles of impeachment — supported by a host of experts on MSNBC and CNN as well as Democratic members — that the Ukrainian allegations could be charged as mail and wire fraud as well as crimes like extortion.

What is most disturbing is that, if there was an objection to voting irregularities or fraud, these legislators would be acting under their state constitutional authority. They would be investigated for carrying out their official duties under state law. Many of us can disagree with such objections. (I have stated repeatedly that I do not see the evidence of systemic voting problems to reverse such state results and  I have criticized President Trump’s rhetoric). However, when Democrats like Sen. Barbara Boxer (D., Cal.) challenged the certification of Ohio’s electoral votes in 2004, no one suggested criminal investigations. Nessel is threatening state legislators that, if they meet to discuss such objections, they might be targets of criminal investigations. That would seem an effort to use the criminal code for the purposes of intimidation or coercion. Imagine if this was U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr threatening Democratic legislators with possible criminal investigation for challenging Trump votes. The media would be apoplectic. Yet, when used against Republicans, major publications and politicians are celebrated for the use of the criminal code for such politically motivated threats.

As with the attacks on Republican lawyers, the threats against Republican legislators has been met with utter silence in the media. Just the familiar sound of crickets.

More than 200 firearms mysteriously disappeared from a Philadelphia Sheriff’s Office between 1977 and 2015, a new report from the City Controller’s Office found last week.

An investigation was sparked into the office after a confidential complaint was filed in 2019, according to CBS 3 Philly. The investigation took a year to unfold.

The complaint initially alleged that 15 rifles and shotguns were missing from the office’s gun inventory, but the ensuing investigation revealed that 101 service firearms and 109 Protection From Abuse Act (PFA) weapons were also missing from the office’s inventory. 

City Controller Rebecca Rhynhart commented: “It’s unacceptable that more than 200 guns that should be in the Sheriff’s Office custody cannot be located. The public needs to trust that the Sheriff’s Office is a reliable steward of its own property, as well as the personal property given to the Sheriff’s Office for safekeeping.”

She continued: “While many of the issues identified pre-date Sheriff Bilal’s administration, I hope that she will take quick action to track down the missing guns, if possible, and ensure proper maintenance of the gun inventory moving forward.”

Sheriff Rochelle Bilal said changes will be implemented. The investigation revealed that many of the issued could be traced to inadequate record keeping and “no formal procedures” regarding inventory management.

In the office’s armory, investigators found “guns piled on the floor as well as haphazardly in boxes, cabinets and barrels”. Some of the weapons were loaded. 

Authored by Thomas Lifson via AmericanThinker.com,

Sheriffs in 5 Southern California counties with a total population of 17.25 million people – equivalent to the fifth most populous state – are defying that state’s governor. They will not arrest people for violating the statewide curfew that Governor Gavin Newsom has imposed starting today, apparently on the belief that the virus wakes up, and goes out at 10 PM.

Bill Melugin of KTTV, Fox 11 in Los Angeles (hat tip: Breitbart) contacted them about enforcing the statewide curfew:

We’ve now heard from every Sheriff in our SoCal viewing area. San Bernardino, Orange, Ventura, & Riverside Counties will not actively enforce the curfew order. LA Sheriff will take a voluntary compliance/education first approach, will not make any arrests related to order @FOXLA

— Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) November 20, 2020

Some city police departments are also demurring:

We’ve heard from the Sheriffs, we are now starting to hear from from city police departments about the curfew. Ontario and Laguna Beach PDs say they will NOT actively enforce the order, seeking voluntary compliance. Costa Mesa and Irvine PDs WILL take part in enforcement. @FOXLA

— Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) November 20, 2020

Newsom has lost all credibility for restricting activity in the name of suppressing the spread of Covid.  He was caught and exposed flouting his own ridiculous strictures on eating in restaurants (put your mask back on between bites of food).  Public exposure of his mask-less attendance at a party full of lobbyists at one of the fanciest restaurants in the world with no social distancing was bad enough. But his subsequent lying, smirking  non-apology apology may well be the death knell for his political career.

His behavior was in utter disregard of his own guidelines for Californians observing Thanksgiving:

CA Gov’s Thxgiving insanity:
-Must be held *OUTSIDE*;
-Guests may use bathrm inside if sanitized;
-Masks on while not eating;
-Singing “strongly discouraged;”
-Max of two hours together;
-6 feet *mandated* in all directions b/twn all at table & otherwise. https://t.co/wPpOBgSctN

— Megyn Kelly (@megynkelly) October 25, 2020

Other sheriffs in Northern California, including Sacramento County, where the Governor now lives, are also refusing to enforce the curfew.

Newsom is facing an existing recall effort, with a deadline of March 17, 2021 to collect 1,495,709 valid signatures. In practice, because some signatures will be challenged, at least 1,700,000 signatures will be required to get the recall election on the ballot. According to Rescue California, which is sponsoring the recall effort, there is already a running start:

In a telephone conversation with Paul Olson on November 18, whose company, GoCo Consulting, is doing the petition verification for the recall, he confirmed that his firm has already processed 494,000 signed petitions which have either just been turned in or are now being delivered to the county clerks around the state. Olson also confirmed that his firm is currently processing another 230,000 signatures.

When combined with the 55,000 that were turned in earlier in the year, and the ones already signed but still being delivered, conservatively estimated at 60,000, this campaign has already collected over 800,000 signed recall petitions.

Californians may go here and download hard copies of the recall petition and obtain up to 5 signatures for each copy, for submission.

Californians have already recalled one governor, Gray Davis, which ended his political career. Newsom, who long has had his sights on the Oval Office, and who is related by marriage to Nancy Pelosi, is now the focus of public resentment over arbitrary restrictions in the name of Covid. It is a status he has earned.

Millions of Americans face food and housing insecurity this holiday season. The unemployment rate stands around 6.9%, with more than ten million folks still out of work. Permanent job loss continues to soar, now about 3.8 million, as a double-dip recession becomes increasingly likely by year-end. 

We recently pointed out that food bank lines continue to increase across the country as the virus-induced downturn continues to inflict financial devastation on the working poor. 

Last weekend, the North Texas Food Bank (NTFB) handed out more than 600,000 pounds of food to 25,000 hungry people – one of the largest-ever food giveaways, explained NTFB officials. 

Thousands of cars lined up to collect food in Dallas, Texas, over the weekend, stretching as far as the eye can see. pic.twitter.com/xLFGOcBkPK

— CBS News (@CBSNews) November 16, 2020

The Daily Mail has compiled a list of food banks across the country reporting a surge in demand ahead of the holidays next week. 

On Friday, US military personnel handed out food in a “massive food drive” at a food bank in Arlington, Texas. 

Hundreds of cars were seen at the event organized by Tarrant Area Food Bank. It was described as the “largest food drive” in their history. 

Here’s a woman rummaging through a food bank set up inside a church in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. 

A food bank in Fort Washington, Maryland, handing out care packages to hungry people. 

Volunteers at a food bank in Los Angeles distributed 1,500 meals on Friday. 

The Thanksgiving reality of smaller family gatherings is also being met with a growing number of Americans going hungry.

The Greater LA Food Bank says demand this year is up 145%, as lines for Thanksgiving turkeys stretched for miles in Dallas on Friday. pic.twitter.com/qB9XkrnJlv

— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) November 21, 2020

People entering a drive-thru food bank in Montgomery, Alabama. 

In New York City, a food bank is handing out care packages to hungry folks as the city continues to deal with depressionary unemployment amid a Covid winter. 

On Saturday, hundreds of cars were lined up for a food bank distribution in North Jersey. 

Hundreds of cars lined up for Thanksgiving food distribution ⁦@CCM_edu⁩ ⁦@dailyrecord⁩ ⁦@northjersey⁩ ⁦@CCMProud⁩ pic.twitter.com/5hKLpBhcFK

— William Westhoven (@wwesthoven) November 21, 2020

A Twitter user records huge lines outside one food bank. No location was given. 

Today I saw a food bank distribution center with a line of cars miles long, full of people who need assistance to have enough to eat. My heart aches.

If you’re able, consider joining with me and donating to your local food bank. They are doing much needed work right now. pic.twitter.com/UJ7FxKICaF

— Jon Steingard (@jonsteingard) November 21, 2020

A Milwaukee food bank this morning has a traffic jam of hungry people waiting for care packages. 

This is the line for the food bank in front of my friend’s apartment building in Milwaukee this morning. I hope you are proud of all your many accomplishments @realDonaldTrump. P.S.#YouLostGetOverIt #TrumpIsANationalDisgrace #BidenHarris2020 pic.twitter.com/X9QKmzJynU

— The Lone Bunny (@Stanks) November 21, 2020

Nationwide, food bank lines are surging ahead of the holiday season. 

This all comes as the Covid winter begins, and the economic recovery is faltering. JPMorgan warned Friday that a dark winter is ahead.

Citi econ surprise index clearly shows the recovery is stalling. 

JPM chief economist Michael Feroli, who writes that while the economy powered through the July coronavirus wave, “at that time the reopening of the economy provided a powerful tailwind to growth. The economy no longer has that tailwind; instead it now faces the headwind of increasing restrictions on activity.” Meanwhile, “the holiday season—from Thanksgiving through New Year’s—threatens a further increase in cases. This winter will be grim, and we believe the economy will contract again in 1Q, albeit at “only” a 1.0% annualized rate.”

In other words, the double-dip is about to hit.

So what about the “V-shaped” recovery?? 

Internet searches for “food bank” jump this past week. 

“Food bank near me” also surges. 

Remind you of anything? 

And for those wondering if the virus-induced downturn in the economy is over – well – you might want to listen to SoftBank CEO Masa Son’s latest warning about an imminent economic crash. 

A federal judge on Saturday dismissed the Trump campaign’s lawsuit in Pennsylvania seeking to invalidate millions of votes, rejecting the “startling” request due to a lack of evidence and ruling that the state can move forward with certifying its election results. U.S. Middle District Judge Matthew Brann, an Obama appointee, ruled that the campaign presented “strained legal arguments without merit and speculative accusations” that were “unsupported by evidence.”

The ruling is a major blow to the Trump campaign’s efforts to overturn election results, with Biden leading Trump by more than 81,000 votes in Pennsylvania.

“In the United States of America, this cannot justify the disenfranchisement of a single voter, let alone all the voters of its sixth most populated state. Our people, laws, and institutions demand more,” the judge wrote.

THE KEY LINE: “In the United States of America, this cannot justify the disenfranchisement of a single voter, let alone all the voters of its sixth most populated state. Our people, laws, and institutions demand more.”https://t.co/DetGohz5wE

— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) November 21, 2020

Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani personally argued against the state’s motion to dismiss before Brann on Tuesday, arguing that the commonwealth should not certify its results and making claims of a vast Democratic conspiracy to steal the election. In reaching his conclusion, Brann said the campaign was not “formidably armed with compelling legal arguments and factual proof of rampant corruption” needed to win such a case.

BREAKING: Judge in Pennsylvania tosses Trump campaign lawsuit, says they have presented no compelling evidence of fraud or mismanagement. pic.twitter.com/kKUdstPImx

— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) November 21, 2020

“This court has been presented with strained legal arguments without merit and speculative accusations, unpled in the operative complaint and unsupported by evidence,” the judge wrote.

The suit’s core claim was that certain Democratic-led counties had more lenient rules in accepting “defective” ballots or letting voters “cure” such ballots than Republican-led ones, which the campaign claimed violated the Constitution’s due process and equal protection guarantees. The state denied those claims and also said the campaign’s proposed remedy of disenfranchising tens of thousands of voters was implausible.

Pressed by Brann on Tuesday if he was actually alleging voter fraud, Giuliani acknowledged that he was not. The judge said in his decision that while Pennsylvania law doesn’t explicitly allow for election officials to let voters cure their ballot errors, it also doesn’t forbid it, and the state’s highest court declined to clarify the issue.

The campaign has also suggested that hundreds of thousands of ballots in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh should be invalidated because they were allegedly counted without proper oversight by Republican observers, exposing them to potential fraud. Claims tied to such allegations were left out of an amended complaint filed on Sunday but partially reinstated in a second revised complaint filed on Wednesday.

The second amended complaint also added a proposal that Brann declare the entire Pennsylvania vote “defective” and let the Republican-controlled state legislature decide the election in favor of Trump. Civil rights groups on Friday evening blasted the argument and urged the judge to dismiss the case, saying it was based on an “incoherent conspiracy theory.”

“That plaintiffs are trying to mix-and-match claims to bypass contrary precedent is not lost on the court,” Brann wrote.

“These claims were meritless from the start and for an audience of one,” Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro said in a statement. “The will of the people will prevail. These baseless lawsuits need to end.”

The ruling is the highest-profile courtroom defeat for Trump in his attempt to overturn the election outcome. Suits filed by the campaign and its GOP allies have failed in Michigan, Georgia, Nevada and Arizona as judges declined to toss out millions of votes based on vague assertions by lawyers and sworn affidavits from voters who interpreted perceived irregularities as evidence of a Democratic conspiracy.

TRUMP’S LAST 48 HRS:

-GA certified vote over Trump objection
-MI lawmakers refuse to intervene for Trump after WH meeting
-AZ’s largest county certifies, rejects fraud claims
-PA judge tosses Giuliani-led lawsuit

MONDAY: Michigan/PA counties set to certify

— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) November 22, 2020

After Georgia certified its results on Friday, Michigan and now Pennsylvania are both likely to do so on Monday, leaving the president an uncertain path to flip enough electoral votes to reverse his defeat.

Trump will now likely petition the Supreme Court: as Bloomberg notes, Pennsylvania, the largest of the six battleground states, was a particular focus of the Trump campaign’s legal challenges, with suits filed in both state and federal courts. The Trump campaign has suggested it will appeal, and Giuliani has said he sees the case as a “vehicle” to get the U.S. Supreme Court’s 6-3 conservative majority to decide the election.

In other words, it’s all up to the Supreme Court now.