Wis. federal court rejects request to stop recount
MADISON, Wis. -- A federal court in Wisconsin on Friday rejected an attempt by pro-Donald Trump groups to stop a recount of the state’s presidential vote, saying there was no harm in allowing it to continue.
Two pro-Trump political action committees and a Wisconsin voter on Thursday filed a lawsuit and a request for a temporary restraining order seeking to stop the recount, arguing that it was an unconstitutional violation of the Constitutional rights of people who had voted for Trump.
But U.S. District Judge James Peterson on Friday denied the motion to temporarily halt the recount, saying there would be no harm in allowing it to proceed while the state prepares arguments in defense.
Peterson scheduled a hearing for Dec. 9 on the underlying lawsuit.
In Michigan, Mr. Trump has filed a lawsuit to stop an election recount in Michigan that is scheduled to begin next week.
The filing Friday comes after the state elections board deadlocked on his request to deny the recount, which means it will likely start Wednesday unless the courts intervene.
Mr. Trump’s lawyers say in the lawsuit that Green Party candidate Jill Stein wants the state to “expend tens of millions of dollars on a wild goose chase that even Stein cannot identify.”
Mr. Trump defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton in Michigan by 10,700 votes.
Michigan’s Republican attorney general also is asking state courts to stop the recount.
Stein says her goal is not to change the election result but to ensure “the integrity and accuracy of the vote.”
Stein is asking a federal judge to order Michigan to quickly start a recount of presidential votes.
