Top Republicans support Trump’s efforts to challenge the election results

McConnell (R-Q) said from the Senate floor that the president has “100 percent in his right” to run accounts and claims. McCain did not reiterate Trump’s baseless claims that fraud cost his election, but he said he had already met with Attorney General William P. Met with the bar and supported the right of the president to investigate all allegations of wrongdoing.

“We have the tools and institutions needed to address any concerns,” McConnell said. “The president has the right to make allegations and make requests under the law.”

Separately, Monday bur Gave to the federal prosecutor Lilizandi to advance allegations of voting irregularities in some cases before the results are certified. The memo appeared to reverse previous Justice Department guidelines that prosecutors generally should not take clear action in cases involving voter fraud until the results come out and become official.

Meanwhile, other GOP officials, including two U.S. senators from Georgia, rushed to speed up Trump’s case, demanding the resignation of Georgia’s Secretary of State Brad Rafensparger, a Republican, after his office said there was no evidence of widespread fraud in the state. .

And Republican attorneys from about a dozen states have filed U.S. lawsuits against Pennsylvania for throwing out mail ballots received after election day. He backed the pending legal efforts before the Supreme Court – state officials said a number of votes were not enough to change the outcome.

Behind the scenes, Trump advisers and allies have increasingly resigned to bidon victory, according to people familiar with the internal discussions, who, like others for the report, spoke on condition of anonymity to share private conversations.

But so far few have actively prevented the president or his campaign from pursuing all legal avenues to fight the results. Only Republican senators have acknowledged Biden’s victory, and senior GOPs have called on Trump to help cover his losses. There has been a slight lack from legislators. Some said it is worth ensuring the integrity of this year’s results, while others described the chaotic and sporadic operations that would hopefully force Trump to cooperate in a peaceful transfer of power.

“What’s the harm in making fun of him for a while?” A senior Republican official said no one seriously thinks the results will change. “He went golfing this weekend. It is not that he is conspiring to prevent J Eden from taking power on January 20. They are tweeting about filing some lawsuits, that lawsuit will fail, then they will tweet a little more about how the election was stolen, and then it will be dispatched. ”

As a result, two different tones prevailed during the day. Inside the White House, aides described the president’s difficulty in reversing the outcome and the announcement of plans to run again in 2024. But in public, Trump tweeted without evidence after the fight in Jury, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and consequently. Nevada was illegally cracked down on. And his campaign announced at least one new federal lawsuit in Pennsylvania, seeking to block state officials from certifying the results.

“Pennsylvania prevented us from observing most of the ballot counts,” Trump said, despite detailed reports and some live feeds showing polling observers had access. “Incredible and illegal in this country.”

Since election day, the Trump campaign and the G.O.P. Allies have claimed election irregularities in six states where Biden is leading in the vote count. But they have not yet proven any widespread fraud and have suffered massive defeats in court.

And many legal activities on Monday recycled previously dismissed allegations. In a new Pennsylvania lawsuit filed by the Trump campaign – again – that some counties gave voters improper approval to fix problems on the mail ballot, a lawsuit that was dropped last week. It also falsely claimed that observers were not allowed to see the ballot process and counting.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, Trump aides said there was little expectation within the campaign that the lawsuit would reverse Biden’s victory – and said advisers had told Trump directly. But they also said that in order to sustain the argument about the dangers of voter fraud, the campaign would move cases forward until their conclusion. Allies in the campaign have also been made public that they publicly encourage people to report evidence of suspicious voter activity or previous accounts.

The campaign’s top two officers, Bill Stepian and Justin Clark, met with staff at their Arlington headquarters on Monday and urged them to continue the fight, officials added, adding that campaign leaders are keeping a close eye on who is still showing up.

But complicating his efforts: Positive test for David Bossi, tapped to lead the campaign’s legal efforts Corona virus, According to a person familiar with the situation.

It was clear Monday that the campaign strategy was at least about rhetoric as much as it was about legal tactics. Officials said Clark, the deputy campaign manager, and others gathered a plan for the various states over the weekend – and a communicative strategy. The campaign also sent “speakers” – talking points – including suggestions that “this election is far from over,” “if Biden is not certified as the winner of any of the states,” and “decides the legal vote.” That is who the president is, not the news media. “

In Michigan, where Republicans have so far lost their legal challenges, a conservative nonprofit law firm filed a new lawsuit claiming that Wet County, Detroit’s home, was not on the roll in the voter count and six signed without verifying voter signatures. Affidavit. The lawsuit also alleges that while reporter voters were not allowed to witness the vote count, more than 200 GOPs were involved. The Challengers were inside the counting room at the TCF Center in Detroit, where the votes were counted last week.

Christopher Trebilcock, a longtime Democratic election lawyer in Michigan, said, “The allegations made in this lawsuit seem like an exaggeration in the routine circumstances that every election arises.” “They either don’t understand the process or don’t care what the law really provides.”

In Nevada, the Trump campaign and Republicans have already lost two attempts to get the courts to order an order to change the vote count in Clark County, the state’s largest Democrat. State and federal judges rejected their demand for emergency intervention, citing a lack of evidence of widespread voter fraud.

In response, Trump allies made a number of new unsubstantiated allegations. On Sunday, Matt Slap of the American Conservative Union claimed “thousands of instances of voter irregularities,” including “Biden-Harris Van,” at the Clark County Counting Center, with ballots “opened” with ballot openers, and ballots filled. Researched in and out again. “

Asked about the GOP’s various fraud allegations on Monday, Clark County Electoral Registrar J. Gloria said his office had forwarded the allegations to the Secretary of State for investigation. “Unfortunately, if something is done illegally, we will find out,” he said.

Gloria said she is confident of the election results. “We have answers to every allegation brought forward,” he said. “We just have to count the votes.”

The office of Nevada Attorney General Aaron D. Ford said no formal formal complaint was filed in his office fees as of Monday evening.

In Georgia, a negative intra-party feud erupted between Republicans questioning the integrity of the election and those who defended it in public.

Trump aides captured news that a small number of ballots had not been scanned over the weekend in Fulton County, the home of Atlanta. The news prompted a story from the conservative website Bretbart News – and a tweet from the president – suggesting that additional ballots could change the results. Critics also falsely accused Fulton County election officials of not allowing Republicans to see the process.

In fact, only 2,347 ballots were affected, and the county invited members of both political parties to inspect Atlanta’s State Farm Arena, the election headquarters. Secretary of State, Rafanspargar also attended.

A Rafanspargar adviser also denied widespread allegations of voter fraud.

Gabriel Sterling, Georgia Secretary of State’s Office of Voting System Implementation Manager, said allegations of widespread illegal activity were false, declaring election day “an amazing success” and punishing those who were “trying to corrupt the state and the system put together.” Is. County officers.

The next day, two Republican senators from Georgia, both preparing to run in the January 5 election, demanded the resignation of Affleck Fansperger.

Sense. “Georgia’s election this year has seen a lot of failures and the most recent election has shed national light on the problems,” said Kelly Lofler and David Perdue, who did not list a single example of the problem. “The Secretary of State has failed to hold honest and transparent elections.”

In a scathing response, Affansferg said he would not step down and would defend the election process in a systematic and transparent manner.

“I know the emotions are rising a lot,” Refencesperge said. Politics is involved in all matters right now. If I was Senator Perdue, I would be irritated if I was in the runoff. And I, both senators, are unhappy with the potential outcome for our president. ”

Biden’s 11,595-vote lead in Georgia means the race is eligible for a recount, but Raffensperg insisted the election result is unlikely to change.

Just as more Republicans came forward to support Trump’s legal pressure, others also came forward to urge the country to move forward.

“At this stage, I think the transition should continue, although it has not been decided,” said San Mitt Romney (R-Utah). “We want to ensure that the interests of national security and smooth transition are carried out.”

John Sven in New York, Tom Hamburger in Detroit, Hannah Na Knows in Phoenix, Reese Thebalt and Seng Min Kim in Atlanta, Michelle Yeh Hee Lee, Matt Zapotowski, Devlin Barrett, Rosalind S. Helderman, Felicia Sonmez, and Aaron Schaefer in Washington contributed. The report.