Trump files a long-drawn challenge from the Supreme Court over Biden’s victory in Pa

President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign fired a long shot at the Supreme Court on Sunday to challenge President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in Pennsylvania in a petition asking the judges to effectively reverse the outcome of the race.

The case, which was filed nearly seven weeks after election day and just a month before Biden’s inauguration, will almost certainly be dismissed by the judges. It comes as Trump continues to deny his loss, even as judges across the country have resolutely dismissed the baseless allegations of fraud from him and his allies.

The challenge follows a similar lawsuit brought by Texas, which the judges declined to hear earlier this month. The court rejected Trump-backed state arguments challenging elections in Pennsylvania and other swing states. All nine judges at the time said they disagreed with Texas’ central arguments.

The judges have not taken any action in a separate Supreme Court lawsuit brought by the Pennsylvania Republican Party, which disputes the state’s extended deadline for absenteeism. That case was originally brought before election day.

The Trump campaign announced its latest filing alongside a statement from President Rudy Giuliani’s personal attorney, the former New York City mayor. Giuliani said the case was the Supreme Court’s first “independent” challenge of the campaign.

The filing asks the judges to overturn three decisions of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to relax some of the state’s election rules regarding signature verification, election day observation, and explanations of vote by mail. It says the state’s supreme court has violated the authority given by the U.S. Constitution to the legislature to hold elections.

“Collectively, these three decisions resulted in the counting of approximately 2.6 million ballots by mail in violation of the law as set by the Pennsylvania Legislature,” Trump’s attorney John Eastman wrote in the filing.

Eastman wrote that the case involved “more than enough” ballots to influence the election outcome.

“The outcome of the election to the United States presidency is at stake,” he added in a separate motion, urging the judges to address the matter quickly, citing the upcoming 6 January congressional deadline for electoral college votes, and January 20 inauguration.

Eastman, a law professor at Chapman University Fowler School of Law, sparked controversy in August when he published an article in a Newsweek opinion article questioning Vice President Kamala Harris’s suitability to run for president. An editor’s note was later added, commenting that the article was “used by some as a tool to perpetuate racism and xenophobia.”

Eastman asked the judges to schedule more briefings for Christmas. In a motion for expedited consideration, he wrote that a delay could not only harm Trump, “but the nation as a whole could be harmed by the resulting confusion.”

“Indeed, the intense national and global attention to the 2020 presidential election only predicts the dislocation that could ensue if the uncertainty and dishonesty surrounding this election persist,” Eastman wrote.

Eastman asked the court of Kathy Boockvar, the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, to respond to the filing of the campaign Wednesday at noon.

The last-ditch legal effort is unlikely to have many practical consequences, although it’s because Trump is increasingly desperate to hold on to power. On Friday, the president reportedly asked aides in the Oval Office about appointing special counsel to investigate electoral fraud, and raised a question about the possible implementation of martial law to seize voting machines. He later denied the reports.

Meanwhile, formal transition mechanisms have continued unabated.

On January 6, Congress will meet in a joint session to formally count the votes of the Electoral College and declare Biden the winner. Senate leader Mitch McConnell, the most senior Republican in Congress, has warned members of his party not to block the announcement of Biden’s victory.

A spokesman for Biden’s transition team did not respond to a request for comment.