ATLANTA — Georgia was drawn into a vortex of conspiracy theories over the 2020 presidential election on Thursday, as President Donald Trump's lawyers and a prominent Atlanta supporter pressed unfounded claims of fraud.
But the allegations of improprieties were not enough to persuade a federal judge in Atlanta to prevent state officials from certifying that former Vice President Joe Biden defeated Trump in Georgia. In a lengthy hearing late Thursday, U.S. District Judge Steven Grimberg — a Trump appointee — found no justification for potentially rejecting more than 1.3 million absentee ballots.
"It harms the public interest in countless ways, particularly in the environment in which this election occurred," Grimberg said. "To halt the certification literally at the 11th hour would breed confusion and significant disenfranchisement."
Grimberg ruled in a case brought by Atlanta attorney L. Lin Wood, who claimed that election fraud tipped the results in Biden's favor. Wood contended that his status as a Republican donor gave him standing to challenge the outcome. The judge disagreed.
