Wyoming Representative Lise Cheney has joined a growing number of Republicans in pressuring President Donald Trump to concede the election to Joe Biden as his campaign continues its fight to prove voter fraud.
The Republican speaker in the House of Representatives urged Trump to respect the “ sanctity of our electoral process ” if he cannot provide evidence substantiating allegations of fraud in a statement Friday.
America is governed by the rule of law. Cheney, Republican number three in the House of Representatives, said the president and his attorneys have made allegations of widespread criminality and fraud that they claim may affect the election results.
If they have real evidence of this, they are obligated to promptly present it to the court and the American people.
“If the president cannot prove these allegations or prove that they will change the election outcome, he must fulfill his oath by preserving, protecting and defending the United States Constitution by respecting the sanctity of our electoral process.”
Cheney’s statement marked a break with other top House Republicans, including Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, who stood behind Trump while continuing to push through unfounded claims that he won the election.
Trump responded to Cheney in a tweet on Saturday, writing: ‘Sorry, Liz, the election results with hundreds of thousands of fraudulent votes cannot be accepted, which is enough to overturn the election easily.
“You are unhappy that I am bringing the troops home where they belong!”
Wyoming Representative Liz Cheney, chair of the Republican Congress in the House of Representatives, urged President Donald Trump to respect the “ sanctity of our electoral process ” if he is unable to substantiate allegations of voter fraud in a statement Friday.
Since Biden’s victory was announced two weeks ago, Trump (pictured at the Virginia golf course on Saturday) has unleashed a barrage of lawsuits and launched a lobbying campaign to prevent states from validating their total votes.
Trump responded to Cheney in a tweet on Saturday, writing: ‘Sorry, Liz, the election results with hundreds of thousands of fraudulent votes cannot be accepted, which is enough to overturn the election easily. “You’re just unhappy that I’m bringing the troops home where they belong!”
Since Biden was declared winning two weeks ago, Trump has unleashed a barrage of lawsuits and launched a lobbying campaign to prevent countries from ratifying their vote totals.
So far, attempts to thwart certification have failed in courts in Georgia, Michigan, and Arizona.
On Saturday, Matthew Bran, the Republican federal judge nominated by former President Barack Obama, rejected a similar effort in Pennsylvania, writing that the case amounted to “tense legal arguments without foundation and speculative accusations.”
For Trump to have any hope of staying in the White House, he must eliminate Biden, who achieved 81,000 votes in Pennsylvania. The state is due to begin certifying its results on Monday.
Trump’s lawyers have pledged to file a speedy appeal, but lawyers who contested him in court say his time is up.
“ That should put this nail in the coffin on any other attempts by President Trump to use federal courts to rewrite the 2020 election result, ” said Christine Clark, chair of the Bar Committee for Civil Rights under the law.
Some of Trump’s fellow Republicans in Congress – like Cheney – are now breaking ranks.
Republican Senator Pat Tommy said the ruling closed off any chance for a legal victory in Pennsylvania and called on Trump to drop the election.
Senator Susan Collins (of the Maine Republican Party) also spoke against the president Friday, saying he was damaging the transition by refusing to compromise.
Collins also condemned Trump’s efforts to prevent state election officials from certifying their results.
“There is a right way and a wrong way to gather evidence and raise legal challenges in our courts,” Collins said.
The wrong way is to try to pressure state election officials. This undermines public confidence in our election results without evidence and court rulings to support the allegations.
Sean Pat Tome (left) and Susan Collins (right) have joined a growing number of Republicans in urging Trump to drop the election.
Biden won six million more votes than Trump in the November 3 election, and also beat 306-232 in the state-by-state Electoral College system that determines who will take the oath of office on January 20, 2021.
He has spent the past several weeks preparing to take office, even though the Trump administration has refused to provide funding and security clearances to do so.
Critics say Trump’s refusal to compromise has serious ramifications for national security and the fight against the Coronavirus, which has killed nearly 255,000 Americans.
To stay in office, Trump will somehow need to reverse election results in at least three large states – an achievement unprecedented in US history.
A recount in Georgia confirmed Biden had won there, and officials confirmed the result on Friday. The Trump campaign said late on Saturday that it would request a recount again.
In Wisconsin, election officials have criticized Trump’s volunteers for slowing down a partial recount that is not expected to upend Biden’s victory.
With recounts and lawsuits looming, Trump is now pressing the Republican-led state legislatures to get rid of the vote totals and declare him the winner.
“We hope the courts and / or legislatures … have the courage to do what needs to be done to preserve the integrity of our elections and the United States of America itself,” he wrote on Twitter after the ruling in Pennsylvania.
On Friday, he summoned two of the top Republicans in the Michigan legislature to the White House. After the meeting, they said they saw no evidence that would prompt them to intervene. Biden leads Trump in Michigan with 154,000 votes.
Election officials across the country say there is no evidence of major voting fraud, and the Trump administration has described the election as the “safest in American history.”
But Trump’s accusations continued to fuel his hard-line Republican base.
Half of Republicans believe the election was stolen from Trump, according to a Reuters / Ipsos poll, and his supporters have staged rallies across the country to protest the result.
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