George W.Bush on Wednesday told his legal team to file an appeal with the U.S.Supreme Court in an effort to stop manual ballot recounts from being added to Florida's final tally

George W.Bush on Wednesday told his legal team to file an appeal with the U.S.Supreme Court in an effort to stop manual ballot recounts from being added to Florida's final tally -- votes which could determine whether Bush or Al Gore becomes the next president. Republicans are asking the nation's highest court to consolidate appeals over two cases where Bush's requests for a court order to stop the recounts were rejected. One case involves Tuesday's Florida Supreme Court ruling and the other involves a decision from the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta. Details of how such an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court might be pursued were not clear. One campaign source in Tallahassee told CNN, "Things are moving very quickly and could change." Another source told the Associated Press the points in U.S. Supreme court appeal would be: • The state justices violated the U.S. Constitution's separation of powers by determining electoral deadlines and a recount process that federal law invested solely in the Legislature. • The court ruling and the alternating recount standards in the three counties violate a federal law that forbids changing election rules after the fact. • The recounts are so selective and unevenly carried out that they violate both the equal protection and due process clauses of the Constitution. The White House said today that President Clinton directed his staff to do everything possible to help either Gore or Bush have a successful presidential transition despite a shortened period for it.