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Republican reactions to Donald Trump's claims of 2020 election fraud

January 01, 1970

Members of the United States Republican Party have reacted differently to Republican president Donald Trump's false claims about the 2020 United States presidential election, with many publicly supporting them, many remaining silent, and a few publicly denouncing them.[1] Trump falsely claimed to have won the election,[2][3][4] and made many false and unsubstantiated claims of election fraud.[5] By December 11, 2020, 126 out of 196 Republican members of the House backed a lawsuit filed in the United States Supreme Court supported by nineteen Republican state attorneys general seeking to subvert the election and overturn the election results.[6] The Trump campaign hired the Berkeley Research Group to investigate whether there had been voter fraud. The researchers found nothing, and the consultancy reported this to Trump and his chief of staff Mark Meadows on a conference call in the final days of the year, before the attack on the Capitol.[7]

Multiple polls for months after the election found that majorities of Republicans believed the election was fraudulent and stolen and that Trump was the "true" president.[8] By February 2021, drawing on the false allegations of voting fraud and a stolen election, Republican state legislatures had begun to implement new laws and rules to restrict voting access in ways that would favor Republican candidates.[9][10][11] In Arizona, the Republican-controlled government proceeded with legislation to allow the state attorney general, then a Republican, to intervene in the voting certification process managed by the secretary of state, currently a Democrat.[12] Republican lawmakers and candidates in several states sought to seize control of the administrative management of elections.[13]

By December 30, 2020, Republican members of the House and Senate indicated their intent to object to the congressional certification of Electoral College results, to force both chambers to debate and vote on whether to accept the results.[14][15] Mike Pence, who as vice president would preside over the proceedings, signaled his endorsement of the effort, stating on January 4, "I promise you, come this Wednesday, we will have our day in Congress." Trump and some supporters promoted a false "Pence card" theory that the vice president has the authority to reject certified results.[16][17][18] However, Pence later reversed his endorsement of the effort, saying in a letter he would not reject certified results.[19] In the early hours of January 7, 2021, Pence (while performing his duties as President of the Senate, during the counting of electoral votes) conceded that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris had won.[20] On the evening of January 7, 2021, Trump tweeted a video in which he agreed to a peaceful transition on January 20.[21]

The insistence by Trump and his supporters through 2023 that the election had been stolen from him by fraud came to be characterized as an implementation of "the big lie", leading to an election denial movement. It was used by Republicans to justify efforts to impose new voting restrictions and to take control of the administrative management of elections at the state and local level.[22]

Timeline edit

Summary edit

From six months before,[23] during, and after the 2020 United States elections, most notably during a speech held late on November 5, President Donald Trump, who was running for re-election on the Republican Party ticket, suggested and claimed that large-scale electoral fraud would happen, was happening, or had happened, to the effect that it would make him lose his presidential re-election. In the days after Election Day (November 3, 2020), Trump also demanded that the vote counting be stopped in some swing states (Pennsylvania, Georgia, and North Carolina), where he was slowly losing his lead to Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, until Republican observers could meaningfully observe and challenge the vote counting process. Concurrently, Trump demanded that the vote counting be continued in the swing state of Arizona, where he was catching up on Biden. Several prominent members of his Republican Party, including recently elected or former officials, denounced Trump's claims of election fraud before, during, and after the 2020 United States elections as unsubstantiated, baseless or without evidence, as well as damaging to the election process, undermining democracy and dangerous to political stability.[24][25][26] In one case, a former Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives referred to the totality of Trump's actions as an attempted coup d'état.[27] In 2021, The Republican Accountability Project estimated that 6% of national Republicans politicians consistently stood-up for democracy.[28]

Before Election Day edit

Months before Election Day, Democrats regularly condemned President Trump's suggestions that widespread electoral fraud would occur (especially through the use of mail-in ballots, a claim Trump first made on April 7, 2020),[29] but Republicans rarely did.[30] Attempts by Politico to obtain comments from prominent Republicans on the issue mostly failed; Miles Taylor (former chief of staff of the Department of Homeland Security and author of "I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration") and Michael Steele (former chairman of the Republican National Committee) were among the few they could find expressing serious concerns about Trump's comments.[30] Politico stated on the morning of November 3 that "[m]any Republicans insist they are disgusted by Trump's threats, they just aren't willing to say so publicly."[30]

November 4: Counting transparency edit

After Election Day (November 3, 2020), in the afternoon of November 4, the Trump campaign sued Michigan and Pennsylvania, alleging that they were not being given proper access to monitor the vote counting process, and demanded the counting stop. The Trump team declared that they had already won the state of Pennsylvania at a moment when Trump was leading by 320,000 votes, but only 85% of the votes had been counted, and it was known that the vote counting in the city of Philadelphia could still tip the balance in favor of Biden. Eric Trump alleged that "the Democrats" would try to "cheat in Pennsylvania."[31][32] However, Philadelphia City Commissioner Al Schmidt, who oversaw the city's counting and was himself a Republican, rejected claims that the process lacked transparency, as observers were able to see everything that was happening in the counting hall.[31]

November 5: Trump speech alleging electoral fraud edit

Donald Trump's November 5 speech alleging large-scale electoral fraud is at the core of the controversy.

According to CNBC, there was mostly silence within the Republican Party shortly after Trump's speech from the White House late at night on November 5.[33] Rick Santorum, Ben Sasse, Mitt Romney, Larry Hogan, and Chris Christie were among the first Republicans to criticize the President's remarks as indefensible.[33][34] Combined with a statement from Nikki Haley that some deemed to concede Trump's defeat, several Republicans, including Trump's sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, rebuked other Republicans for staying silent and not supporting the President's allegations of electoral fraud.[33][35] According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted on November 5, only about 30% of Republican Americans believed that Trump had won the election; the vast majority of Americans, including most Republicans, believed Biden had.[36]

November 6: Critics and loyalists edit

Some Trump loyalists such as Lindsey Graham, Ted Cruz, Tom Cotton and Kevin McCarthy endorsed the false claims that Trump had actually won the election and that there was large-scale fraud, and called on Republicans to stay united behind Trump. Over 20 other leading Republicans denounced Trump's accusations of voter fraud on November 6.[37][24][38][25][39][40][26][41][excessive citations] Some observers concluded that statements denouncing or supporting Trump's claims were also part of a conflict inside the Republican Party over who should be their nominee for the 2024 presidential election, and whether to continue Trumpist politics.[35][42] In March 2021, McCarthy denied he had supported Trump's false claims of election fraud, though he had supported Texas v. Pennsylvania that sought to overturn voting results in four states and voted in favor of a House resolution to overturn voting results in two states.[43]

November 7: Several Republicans congratulate Biden while others refuse edit

On November 7, most major American news networks called the election a victory for Biden when vote-counting in Pennsylvania and Nevada reached the point where he would certainly receive the 270 electors' votes needed for the presidency. The Trump campaign refused to concede defeat and instead asserted that "the election was far from over."[44] Several leading Republicans, including former 2012 Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, Larry Hogan, John Kasich, Phil Scott, Adam Kinzinger, Will Hurd, Paul Mitchell, Fred Upton, Lamar Alexander, Tom Reed, and Jeb Bush, proceeded to congratulate Biden as the new President-elect (and Kamala Harris as Vice President-elect) of the United States; others such as Josh Hawley and Paul Gosar insisted that the election was not over yet until "all lawful votes have been counted, recounts finished, and allegations of fraud addressed."[45][46][47]

Just before the media called the election, re-elected Texas Congressman Dan Crenshaw tweeted "If Trump loses, he loses. It was never an impossible outcome and we must accept the final results when it is over," to which newly elected Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene (a QAnon conspiracy theory supporter) responded, "The time to STAND UP for (President Donald Trump) is RIGHT NOW. Republicans can't back down." Crenshaw criticized her for trying to "talk tough" and said: "You're a member of Congress now, Marjorie. Start acting like one," while stressing that any irregularity should be addressed.[48]

November 8: George W. Bush congratulates Biden and Harris edit

 
George W. Bush: "(...) this election was fundamentally fair, its integrity will be upheld, and its outcome is clear."[49]

On November 8, former president George W. Bush (2001–2009), the previous Republican president, congratulated President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris by phone, and said in a statement: "The American people can have confidence that this election was fundamentally fair, its integrity will be upheld, and its outcome is clear." He further stated: "The President-elect reiterated that while he ran as a Democrat, he will govern for all Americans. I offered him the same thing I offered presidents Trump and Obama: my prayers for his success, and my pledge to help in any way I can." While congratulating Trump "on a hard-fought campaign" and saying he "has the right to request recounts and pursue legal challenges," Bush stated the election's outcome was clearly in Biden's favor.[49][50][51] According to Forbes, "most Trump allies and congressional Republicans" had by then either stayed silent or explicitly refused to congratulate Biden and Harris, but the number of Republicans who did was growing.[52] After Bush's declaration, Trump ally Chris Christie stepped up the pressure on Trump to provide evidence of electoral fraud if he wanted Republicans to support his cause: "If your basis for not conceding is [because] there was voter fraud, then show us. Because if you don't show us, we can't do this. We can't back you blindly without evidence."[53] CNN claimed two sources had said Trump's son-in-law and Director of the Office of American Innovation Jared Kushner had urged the President to accept the loss, while a third, separate source alleged that First Lady Melania Trump had tried to convince her husband as well.[54] Roy Blunt repeated his earlier statement that Trump had been making baseless claims and that "it's time for the president's lawyers to present the facts," but when asked by ABC's George Stephanopoulos, he refused to acknowledge for the time being that Biden had won; Pat Toomey took a similar but softer stance.[55] Kristi Noem, on the other hand, pushed the narrative of widespread fraud, but was unable to present evidence when pressed by Stephanopoulos.[55]

November 9: Trump campaign announces legal challenges edit

See also: Lawsuits related to the 2020 United States presidential election and List of lawsuits involving Donald Trump § Trump 2020 Campaign-related lawsuits by state

At the Four Seasons Total Landscaping press conference, the Trump campaign team had announced it would formally present several legal challenges against the election process and results on Monday, November 9, refusing to concede the Biden/Harris victory. Speaking on the condition of anonymity to the Associated Press, senior officials, campaign aides and allies said that "[t]he strategy to wage a legal fight against the votes tallied for Biden in Pennsylvania and other places is more to provide Trump with an off-ramp for a loss he can't quite grasp and less about changing the election's outcome." Some of them even had "deep reservations about the president's attempts to undermine faith in the vote."[56] Similarly, The Washington Post reported on Monday that "[b]ehind the scenes, Trump advisers and allies are increasingly resigned to a Biden victory, according to people familiar with internal discussions, who, like others interviewed for this report, spoke on the condition of anonymity to share private conversations."[57]

In response, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell stated that "President Trump is 100% within his rights to look into allegations of irregularities and weigh his legal options."[58] Texas senator John Cornyn and Iowa senator Chuck Grassley were among the Republicans who said that they hadn't yet seen any evidence of widespread voting fraud that could change the election, while saying the President had the right to legally investigate allegations of fraud. Close Trump ally Graham also referred to minor incidents that he admitted wouldn't yet change the election result, and said he would accept a loss in the courts.[59]

That same day, ABC News noted that actually very few members of the Trump administration and White House staff itself had so far explicitly supported Trump's claims of electoral fraud, or asserted that he won the election; Vice President Mike Pence only went so far as tweeting he stood by President Trump in saying that every legal vote should be counted, and otherwise remained silent.[60] Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan of the key swing state of Georgia stated: "We've not had any sort of credible incidents [of widespread systemic voter fraud or irregularities] raised to our level yet."[61] At a press conference, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany accused Democrats of encouraging fraud and illegal voting. Notably, Fox News decided to cut away during her speech because host Neil Cavuto found it irresponsible to continue broadcasting such "an explosive charge." Previously, Fox News had continuously aired most of President Trump's press conferences and rallies, regardless of the false claims he made during his speeches.[62]

In a highly contentious move, U.S. Attorney General William Barr, who had previously supported Trump's unfounded claims about voter fraud, authorized the investigation of alleged voting irregularities before the states had certified the election results, prompting Richard Pilger, director of the elections crimes branch in the Justice Department, to resign in protest.[58] Pilger stated that Barr's action was "abrogating the forty-year-old Non-Interference Policy for ballot fraud investigations in the period prior to elections becoming certified and uncontested."[63]

Meanwhile, Republican senators David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler from Georgia demanded Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to resign for "[failing] to deliver honest and transparent elections" after his voting system manager, Gabriel Sterling (a lifelong Republican), called the claims of electoral fraud "hoaxes and nonsense," "fake news" and "disinformation" in a Monday morning press conference, but Raffensperger (also a Republican) rejected the demand outright, adding that any incidents of voter fraud were unlikely to tip the balance of Biden's lead of more than 12,000 votes (0.25%) towards Trump for Georgia's 16 electors.[64] He called Perdue and Loeffler's claim of lack of transparency "laughable."[65]

November 10: Pompeo rejects Biden's victory while other Republicans privately acknowledge it edit

 
Mike Pompeo: "There will be a smooth transition to a second Trump administration."[66]

On November 10, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo sparked outrage among diplomats when he told journalists during a press conference that there would be a "smooth transition to a second Trump administration," because he was confident that the vote counting would still result in a Trump victory.[66] John Bolton, National Security Advisor in the Trump administration from 2018 to 2019, who had already denounced Trump's fraud claims days earlier,[40] was highly critical of Pompeo's remarks, saying he had "eviscerated his credibility" and was "delusional."[67] Meanwhile, Democratic senator Chris Coons from Delaware told CNN that several Republican senators had privately acknowledged President-elect Joe Biden's victory to him in phone calls, asking him "to convey their well-wishes to the President-elect," but they were not yet willing to do so publicly themselves. At that point, four Republican senators had publicly recognized Biden, and Coons expected others to follow that week.[68]

An inquiry from The New York Times showed that throughout the country, election officials representing both parties reported no evidence of significant voter fraud, even though some Republican candidates running for office were casting doubt on the results without proof.[65] Republican officials criticized unsupported allegations, with Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose stating: "There's a great human capacity for inventing things that aren't true about elections. The conspiracy theories and rumors and all those things run rampant."[65] Kansas Republican secretary of state Scott Schwab wrote in an email: "Kansas did not experience any widespread, systematic issues with voter fraud, intimidation, irregularities or voting problems."[65] Republican Washington Secretary of State Kim Wyman determined the election was free of fraud. Her assessment was rebuked by Republican candidate Loren Culp, who lost his gubernatorial race against Democrat Jay Inslee by a large margin of 14%, leading Wyman to say: "It's just throwing grass at the fence at this point, see what sticks."[65] Republican Montana Secretary of State Corey Stapleton tweeted: "I have supported you, Mr. President. @realDonaldTrump accomplished some incredible things during your time in office! But that time is now over! Tip your hat, bite your lip, and congratulate @JoeBiden."[65]

November 11: Senior Republicans call on Trump to concede edit

On November 11, Arizona attorney general Mark Brnovich, a Republican, stated that he had not found any evidence of significant fraud that could change the outcome of that state's result. He said it was "very, highly unlikely" that Trump would receive enough votes from the last remaining uncounted ballots to beat Biden's 13,000 vote lead, and thus obtain Arizona's 11 electors. Even without these, Biden would still have 279 electors, enough to gain the presidency with a large margin.[69] Meanwhile, pressure was mounting on Trump to concede defeat: most foreign heads of state or government had already congratulated President-elect Biden, who a day earlier had labeled Trump's refusal to concede "an embarrassment." Senior Republicans who had already acknowledged the Democratic nominee's victory were publicly calling on the President to do the same, with former Defense Secretary and former US Senator from Maine William Cohen describing Trump's behavior as "more akin to a dictatorship than a democracy."[70] Former White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card said: "I think it's hyperbole beyond expectation or credibility to say that somebody 'stole the election'; they didn't." He said he was addressing the president, but also trying to give "Republicans who know this, but are afraid to say it, permission to say it," and urged people close to the President to "tell him the truth, polish our democracy, and polish his legacy," "recognize reality," and begin the transition to prevent security risks.[71]

Massachusetts governor Charlie Baker commented: "I'm dismayed to hear the baseless claims from the president, from his team, and from many other elected Republican officials in Washington. I can't think of a worse time to stall a transition than amid a deadly pandemic."[70] Maryland governor Larry Hogan added: "Most people realize that this election is over. It's really dangerous, I think, in the middle of this pandemic, this economic collapse, people dying across the country, to not know if we're going to have a transition."[70] An editorial in the Las Vegas Review-Journal, owned by Republican megadonor Sheldon Adelson who had supported the Trump campaign with over 75 million dollars, wrote: "The president does a disservice to his more rabid supporters by insisting that he would have won the Nov 3 election absent voter fraud. That's simply false."[72]

Senate Ethics Committee Chair James Lankford, a Republican senator from Oklahoma, demanded the Trump administration to give President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris access to the President's Daily Brief, the daily presidential intelligence briefings on national security issues. Lankford took the pragmatic position of not yet acknowledging Biden and Harris as elects while Trump's legal challenges were ongoing, but recognized they would form the next administration if the lawsuits failed, and said they needed to be informed about the country's pressing security issues to be prepared before taking office. This practice during the presidential lame duck period was long established, even during the contested 2000 presidential election, Lankford argued, warning he would intervene if the Trump administration would not grant Biden/Harris access by the end of the week.[73]

November 12: "Most secure election in American history" edit

 
Chris Krebs: "[Don't share] baseless claims about voting machines, even if they're made by the president."[74] Trump fired Krebs days later.[75]

On November 12, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), part of the Department of Homeland Security, published a statement saying "The November 3 election was the most secure in American history," and that it had found "no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes, changed votes, or was in any way compromised." It was the first time that an entire agency – one which Trump had in fact created in 2018 – within the Trump administration contradicted the President's claims of widespread fraud and irregularities.[76]

The Trump-appointed Director of CISA, Christopher C. Krebs, had already been at odds with President Trump over creating a website that sought to debunk election-related disinformation, while a lot of such disinformation was being spread by Trump himself and other Republican Party leaders. He therefore expected to be fired by the President soon for disloyalty, as many other officials had been in preceding days due to conflicts with Trump over the election and other issues. Nevertheless, he persisted in leading his agency's efforts in combating what he saw as dangerous nonsense, hoaxes and conspiracy theories such as "wild and baseless claims about voting machines, even if they're made by the president."[74] Trump fired Krebs on November 17.[77]

New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu insisted there was no fraud in his state and congratulated Biden as President-elect, bringing the number of Republican governors denouncing Trump's claims to 5 out of 26.[78] Ohio Governor Mike DeWine then did the same, becoming the 6th.[79] That same day, 161 former national security officials, who served in Democratic or Republican administrations (including the Trump administration), signed a letter urging the General Services Administration (GSA) to recognize Joe Biden as president-elect, as further delaying the acknowledgement posed "serious risk to national security."[80]

November 13: Trump suffers legal setbacks edit

On November 13, the Trump campaign suffered three defeats in Arizona, Michigan and Pennsylvania related to his challenges against the electoral process. Spokesperson Tim Murtaugh repeated claims about voting machine irregularities in Maricopa County, but the Trump team dropped its lawsuit because Biden's overall lead in Arizona was too large for the disputed ballots to make a difference.[81] That same day, several law firms including Porter Wright Morris & Arthur, Jones Day (which had supported Trump in over 20 cases in 4 years) and Snell & Wilmer that had been representing the Trump campaign or the Republican Party in some of its legal complaints withdrew their support, commenting that the President's objections were pointless, and they did not wish to legitimize his arguments anymore. Jones Day lawyer Parker A. Rider-Longmaid stated: "I believe the question is whether this firm should lend its prestige and credibility to the project of an administration bent on undermining our democracy and our rule of law." The Lincoln Project, a group of anti-Trump Republicans, had been publicly urging employees of Jones Day and Porter Wright to resign in protest in the preceding days.[82] President Trump himself reportedly also came close to conceding defeat by admitting that he may not be leading the next administration, during an interview on the new COVID-19 surge, saying: "I will not go – this administration will not be going to a lockdown. Hopefully the – whatever happens in the future, who knows which administration will be. I guess time will tell. But I can tell you this administration will not go to a lockdown."[83]

November 14: Trump criticizes Republican officials dismissing fraud edit

See also: Trump–Raffensperger scandal

On November 14, President Trump vehemently criticized Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger for dismissing claims of fraud, labeling him "a so-called Republican (RINO)", accusing him of obstructing investigations into fraud, even though Raffensperger said the investigations were still ongoing "but we have not seen something widespread." In response to pressure to follow Trump's narrative, Raffensperger stated: "People are just going to have to accept the results. I'm a Republican. I believe in fair and secure elections." His comments were supported by Republican lieutenant governor Geoff Duncan.[84] Trump also attacked Philadelphia City Commissioner Al Schmidt as a "so-called Republican (RINO)", alleging he "refused to look at a mountain of corruption & dishonesty." Schmidt had called some of Trump's claims "fantastical" and "completely ridiculous allegations that have no basis in fact at all."[84] Similarly, Republican election officials in the Dauphin and Cumberland counties refuted presidential claims of voter fraud.[84]

Meanwhile, Republican Kent County Clerk Lisa Posthumus Lyons rejected Trump's claims that the voting system was unreliable, saying it had been used before by the Michigan Republican Party; she added: "I am 100% confident in the results in Kent County, and I'm confident that our canvass, once its all concluded, will validate that."[84] Barbara Cegavske, the Nevada Secretary of State and also a Republican, declared that "[m]any voter fraud complaints lack any evidence and are more complaints about process or policy."[84]

November 15: Confusion about partial concession edit

On November 15, retweeting a Fox News video that claimed fraud, Trump wrote about Biden: "He won because the election was rigged," repeating a number of claims that have been generally dismissed as baseless. Nevertheless, several analysts and commentators regarded this statement as a partial concession or the start of a concession on the part of the incumbent president. While asserting Trump would remain influential within the Republican Party for some time, Republican Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson told NBC: "It was good actually to see President Trump tweet out that 'he won'. I think that's a start of an acknowledgment." Trump responded: "He only won in the eyes of the fake news media. I concede nothing!"[85]

November 19: Biden/Harris host bipartisan governor conference edit

Sixteen days into Trump's refusal to concede, the Biden/Harris Transitional Team hosted a conference call on how to deal with COVID-19 with ten governors, five of whom were Republicans: Alabama Governor Kay Ivey, Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker, and Utah Governor Gary Herbert. President-elect Biden stressed the importance of bipartisanship, expressed hope for arriving at a consensus with "Republican colleagues," and criticized General Services Administrator Emily W. Murphy's decision to delay the transition process.[86]

November 19–22: Legal developments edit

The same day, Trump campaign attorneys Rudy Giuliani, Jenna Ellis, Joseph diGenova and Sidney Powell – who described themselves as Trump's "elite strike force team" – "spun a web of mistruths that made mention of the Clinton Foundation, liberal megadonor George Soros and the late Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chávez."[87] Powell referred to an alleged pro-Biden election-rigging software within polling machines issued by Dominion Voting Systems.[88][89] At no time did any of the lawyers give proof of their claims.[90] Trump cable news loyalist Tucker Carlson singled out the conspiratorial claims made by Powell, who alleged that Venezuela, Cuba and unidentified communist interests had used a secret algorithm to hack into voting machines and commit fraud, noting that "what Powell was describing would amount to the single greatest crime in American history."[91] He said Powell became "angry and told us to stop contacting her" when he asked for evidence of her claims.[91] On November 22, the Trump campaign distanced themselves from Powell, with Ellis saying "Sidney Powell is practicing law on her own. She is not a member of the Trump Legal Team. She is also not a lawyer for the President in his personal capacity."[92]

November 23: GSA ascertains Biden as apparent president-elect edit

General Services Administrator Emily Murphy formally sent the letter of ascertainment to Joe Biden on November 23. While Democrats and some Republicans had been pressuring her to make the ascertainment, and Trump loyalists not to do so, Murphy stated she made her own decision based on the official election results and developing circumstances of Trump's legal challenges: "Contrary to media reports and insinuations, my decision was not made out of fear or favoritism. Instead, I strongly believe that the statute requires that the GSA Administrator ascertain, not impose, the apparent president-elect."[93] Due to the ascertainment, the Biden/Harris transition team obtained funding and permission to start working with Trump administration officials across federal agencies to prepare for the Biden administration's succession in January 2021.[93] President Trump endorsed the GSA ascertainment "in the best interest of the Country," while vowing to continue his legal struggles, which several people close to Trump as well as external commentators interpreted as an indirect concession.[93][94]

December 2: Most Republican members of Congress still side with Trump edit

Over three weeks after Biden's victory speech, most Republican members of Congress who commented on the presidential election still sided with Trump.[95]

December 5: Few Republican members of Congress recognize Biden as the winner edit

Only 27 out of 249 Republicans in Congress had acknowledged Biden as the winner of the election.[96]

December 8: Texas v. Pennsylvania; rejected resolution to declare Biden president-elect edit

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, sues the state of Pennsylvania (Texas v. Pennsylvania) alleging that election results from Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin were invalid. Within one day of Texas's filing, Trump, over 100 Republican Representatives, and 18 Republican state attorney generals filed motions to support the case.[97][98] Republican members of state legislatures also supported the assertions.[99]

During a meeting of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, Democrats proposed a resolution affirming Joe Biden to be president-elect, but Republicans voted it down. The vote was 3–3 along party lines.[100][101]

December 14: Counterfeit electors edit

On Fox News, Stephen Miller stated that failed Trump electors would meet and cast a set of "alternative votes."[102][103]

December 15: Electoral College votes to certify Biden's victory edit

After the electoral college vote to certify Biden's victory, more Republican senators begin to call Biden the president-elect.[104] Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell extended his congratulations for the first time on December 15, referring to Biden and Harris as "President-elect" and "vice president-elect" and stating: "The electoral college has spoken."[105] Nonetheless, in late December 2020, some Republican members in Congress[106] were reported to be considering challenging the results of the electoral college vote on January 6, 2021, in an attempt to overturn Trump's loss to Biden.[107][108][109][110]

December 28: Rep. Gohmert sues Vice President Pence edit

On December 28, 2020, Rep. Louis Gohmert (R-TX) challenged the constitutionality of the Electoral Count Act of 1887, claiming that the vice president should have the power and ability to unilaterally decide which slates of electoral votes get counted. Vice President Pence was named as the defendant in the lawsuit.[111][112] Pence responded that he is "not the right person to sue," especially as Gohmert's lawsuit sought to expand Pence's powers, and he asked a judge to reject the lawsuit.[113] The Justice Department argued on Pence's behalf that the lawsuit would make more sense if Congress were the defendant. Congressional lawyers supported Pence's position as well.[114] The case was dismissed on January 1, 2021, for lack of both standing and jurisdiction.[115][116][117] The plaintiffs immediately filed an appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on the Order of Dismissal and the accompanying Final Judgment,[118] but the appeal was dismissed by a three-judge panel of the court on January 2.[119]

December 30: Senator Hawley asserts state law violations edit

Senator Josh Hawley stated "some states, particularly Pennsylvania, failed to follow their own state election laws," though multiple courts had rejected such claims.[120][121] Hawley repeated the false assertion about Pennsylvania in a February 2021 fundraising email, though the Pennsylvania Supreme Court had unanimously rejected the argument and the United States Supreme Court had declined to consider an appeal.[122][123] Steve Scalise, the #2 Republican in the House, continued to make the false assertion as late as October 2021, stating during a television appearance, "Those states that didn't follow the law, are they gonna keep doing that in the future or are we gonna get back to the what the Constitution calls out for electing our leaders?"[124][125][126]

January 2: Republican lawmakers object to the election outcome edit

On January 2, 2021, Vice President Pence reportedly welcomed Republican lawmakers' objections to the election outcome. (Senator Amy Klobuchar, the top Democrat of the committee with jurisdiction over federal elections, regarded the effort a "publicity stunt" that would fail eventually, and amounted to an attempt to "subvert the will of the voters.")[127]

January 5: Senators reveal whether they will support the vote count edit

Ahead of the electoral vote count on January 6, a number of senators declared their intention to oppose or support counting the electoral votes as submitted by the states.[128]

January 8: Nevada Republicans post manifesto predicting Trump will stay in office edit

The chairman of the Nye County Republican Party in Nevada posted a manifesto online that predicted two more weeks of national crisis with "high-profile arrests." It said that Trump would purge his Cabinet, replace his vice president, and ultimately remain in office. Michael Ahrens, RNC communications director, criticized it as sounding “deranged."[129]

January 9: Arizona Republicans draft resolution to censure Cindy McCain edit

Arizona Republicans drafted a resolution to censure Cindy McCain (the widow of the late Republican senator John McCain) for supporting Joe Biden in the November election. RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel disagreed with the effort, telling the Washington Post on January 11 that although "we are upset that a prominent Republican would support Joe Biden," nevertheless "the language in this resolution is abhorrent" and the Arizona Republican Party ought to disregard it if it is presented to them later in January.[129] McCain, noting that the GOP had also censured her husband, shrugged it off on January 14: "I'm in good company."[130]

January 12: Harvard Institute of Politics removes Rep. Elise Stefanik edit

The Harvard Institute of Politics senior advisory committee, expressing its disapproval of Representative Elise Stefanik's (R–N.Y.) false claims of election fraud, said she would no longer be allowed to participate on the committee.[131]

January 17: Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene suspended from Twitter for 12 hours edit

Twitter temporarily suspended the account of U.S. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican from Georgia, "for multiple violations of our civic integrity policy." Greene had tweeted that Americans should "mobilize...in opposition to these attacks on our liberties." The tweet was deleted, and the suspension was in effect for 12 hours.[132]

February 1: Sen. McConnell criticizes Rep. Greene edit

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said, "Loony lies and conspiracy theories are cancer for the Republican Party and our country." Though he did not name Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, his comment was understood as a rebuke of her.[133]

Subsequent events edit

 
CNN fact checker Daniel Dale reported that through June 9, 2021, Trump had issued 132 written statements since leaving office, of which "a third have included lies about the election"—more than any other subject.[134]

On April 10, 2021, the Nevada Republican Party voted 126–112 to censure the Nevada Secretary of State, Barbara Cegavske, a Republican, after her investigation concluded there had been no fraud in the state's 2020 election.[135] Similarly, the Georgia Republican Convention censured Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger on June 5, 2021.[136]

In April and May 2021, the Arizona Senate Republican Caucus was still conducting an audit of November 2020 election results in Maricopa County, even though the results were previously audited several times with the same outcome, and state officials had long since finalized certification. Republican state Sen. Paul Boyer said the audit "makes us look like idiots". The federal Department of Justice warned the methods being used might violate federal election and civil rights laws, and that the chain of custody had not been maintained.[137] In response to a conspiracy theory promoted by a conservative radio show, ballots were examined for bamboo content (in a way experts said would not accurately detect bamboo) on the implausible theory that ballots were secretly imported from South Korea.[138][139] Maricopa County sheriff Paul Penzone criticized as "mind-numbingly reckless and irresponsible" a demand by state Senate Republicans for routers, which he asserted could compromise confidential, sensitive and highly classified law enforcement data and equipment.[140]

In a May post on his blog, Trump amplified a false assertion by Arizona senate president Karen Fann that an "entire database" of Maricopa County voter information had been deleted. Maricopa County recorder Stephen Richer, a Republican who oversees elections, tweeted that Trump's post was "unhinged," noting he was looking at the database on his computer at that moment. Richer added, "We can't indulge these insane lies any longer. As a party. As a state. As a country."[141] The Maricopa county Twitter account later tweeted a lengthy thread with the hashtag #RealAuditorsDont, citing examples including "Release false 'conclusions' without understanding what they are looking at" and "Hire known conspiracy theorists."[142][143]

During a May 17 meeting of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, Republicans who dominate the board sharply objected to the audit, with chairman Jack Sellers chastising Fann's "attempt at legitimatizing a grift disguised as an audit." That day, the county sent a twelve-page letter to dispute Fann's earlier allegations of wrongdoing by county officials, and Sellers stated the allegations were actually due to the incompetence of the auditors. Board members asked party and business leaders to speak out against the audit, noting they had received death threats.[144][145]

While Senator Lindsey Graham said on May 6 that the party "can't grow without" Trump,[146] on May 17 he said "I accept the results of the election," adding, "2020 is over for me."[147]

Fulton County, Georgia, which includes most of Atlanta and is dominated by Democrats, was also the focus of election conspiracy theories. In May 2021, a county judge granted a request to unseal 147,000 mail-in ballots so they could be examined to determine if they are counterfeit. Georgia had already conducted three audits, including a hand recount, during the weeks after the election. The court case and ballot review were led by a man who has promoted various political conspiracy theories for decades. His effort has been supported by some leading Georgia Republicans, including former senator Kelly Loeffler.[148][149][150]

The insistence by Trump and his supporters throughout 2021 that the election had been stolen from him by fraud came to be characterized as an implementation of "the big lie". Despite no evidence of election fraud surfacing after more than a year since the election, Trump and his supporters continued to insist he won and inverted the narrative to insist that saying he lost was the real big lie. Polls indicated a large majority of Republicans continued to agree that Trump's false assertions were valid, leading to efforts they characterized as bolstering "election integrity" to restrict voting and take control of the administrative management of elections. Trump ally Steve Bannon said in December 2021 that "we are going to take over the election apparatus." January 2022 analysis conducted by NPR found that at least fifteen Republicans who denied Biden's victory were candidates for secretary of state in the 2022 elections.[151] Fascism scholar Timothy Snyder observed: "The lie is so big that it reorders the world. And so part of telling the big lie is that you immediately say it's the other side that tells the big lie. Sadly, but it's just a matter of record, all of that is in Mein Kampf."[152]

On January 18, 2023, new members were named to the House Oversight and Accountability Committee. Thirteen of the 15 new Republicans on the committee had "either voted to overturn the 2020 presidential election ... or are freshman members who have rejected or questioned the validity of President Joe Biden’s win", according to HuffPost.[153] Similarly, three of the five Republicans named to the House Ethics Committee on January 31, 2023, had voted to overturn the 2020 election.[154]

Indictment edit

On August 1, 2023, Trump was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges related to the election investigation.

On August 14, 2023, he was indicted by a Georgia grand jury on election racketeering charges.

See also edit

References edit

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January 01, 1970
republican, reactions, donald, trump, claims, 2020, election, fraud, members, united, states, republican, party, have, reacted, differently, republican, president, donald, trump, false, claims, about, 2020, united, states, presidential, election, with, many, p. Members of the United States Republican Party have reacted differently to Republican president Donald Trump s false claims about the 2020 United States presidential election with many publicly supporting them many remaining silent and a few publicly denouncing them 1 Trump falsely claimed to have won the election 2 3 4 and made many false and unsubstantiated claims of election fraud 5 By December 11 2020 126 out of 196 Republican members of the House backed a lawsuit filed in the United States Supreme Court supported by nineteen Republican state attorneys general seeking to subvert the election and overturn the election results 6 The Trump campaign hired the Berkeley Research Group to investigate whether there had been voter fraud The researchers found nothing and the consultancy reported this to Trump and his chief of staff Mark Meadows on a conference call in the final days of the year before the attack on the Capitol 7 Multiple polls for months after the election found that majorities of Republicans believed the election was fraudulent and stolen and that Trump was the true president 8 By February 2021 drawing on the false allegations of voting fraud and a stolen election Republican state legislatures had begun to implement new laws and rules to restrict voting access in ways that would favor Republican candidates 9 10 11 In Arizona the Republican controlled government proceeded with legislation to allow the state attorney general then a Republican to intervene in the voting certification process managed by the secretary of state currently a Democrat 12 Republican lawmakers and candidates in several states sought to seize control of the administrative management of elections 13 By December 30 2020 Republican members of the House and Senate indicated their intent to object to the congressional certification of Electoral College results to force both chambers to debate and vote on whether to accept the results 14 15 Mike Pence who as vice president would preside over the proceedings signaled his endorsement of the effort stating on January 4 I promise you come this Wednesday we will have our day in Congress Trump and some supporters promoted a false Pence card theory that the vice president has the authority to reject certified results 16 17 18 However Pence later reversed his endorsement of the effort saying in a letter he would not reject certified results 19 In the early hours of January 7 2021 Pence while performing his duties as President of the Senate during the counting of electoral votes conceded that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris had won 20 On the evening of January 7 2021 Trump tweeted a video in which he agreed to a peaceful transition on January 20 21 The insistence by Trump and his supporters through 2023 that the election had been stolen from him by fraud came to be characterized as an implementation of the big lie leading to an election denial movement It was used by Republicans to justify efforts to impose new voting restrictions and to take control of the administrative management of elections at the state and local level 22 Contents 1 Timeline 1 1 Summary 1 2 Before Election Day 1 3 November 4 Counting transparency 1 4 November 5 Trump speech alleging electoral fraud 1 5 November 6 Critics and loyalists 1 6 November 7 Several Republicans congratulate Biden while others refuse 1 7 November 8 George W Bush congratulates Biden and Harris 1 8 November 9 Trump campaign announces legal challenges 1 9 November 10 Pompeo rejects Biden s victory while other Republicans privately acknowledge it 1 10 November 11 Senior Republicans call on Trump to concede 1 11 November 12 Most secure election in American history 1 12 November 13 Trump suffers legal setbacks 1 13 November 14 Trump criticizes Republican officials dismissing fraud 1 14 November 15 Confusion about partial concession 1 15 November 19 Biden Harris host bipartisan governor conference 1 16 November 19 22 Legal developments 1 17 November 23 GSA ascertains Biden as apparent president elect 1 18 December 2 Most Republican members of Congress still side with Trump 1 19 December 5 Few Republican members of Congress recognize Biden as the winner 1 20 December 8 Texas v Pennsylvania rejected resolution to declare Biden president elect 1 21 December 14 Counterfeit electors 1 22 December 15 Electoral College votes to certify Biden s victory 1 23 December 28 Rep Gohmert sues Vice President Pence 1 24 December 30 Senator Hawley asserts state law violations 1 25 January 2 Republican lawmakers object to the election outcome 1 26 January 5 Senators reveal whether they will support the vote count 1 27 January 8 Nevada Republicans post manifesto predicting Trump will stay in office 1 28 January 9 Arizona Republicans draft resolution to censure Cindy McCain 1 29 January 12 Harvard Institute of Politics removes Rep Elise Stefanik 1 30 January 17 Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene suspended from Twitter for 12 hours 1 31 February 1 Sen McConnell criticizes Rep Greene 1 32 Subsequent events 1 32 1 Indictment 2 See also 3 ReferencesTimeline editSummary edit From six months before 23 during and after the 2020 United States elections most notably during a speech held late on November 5 President Donald Trump who was running for re election on the Republican Party ticket suggested and claimed that large scale electoral fraud would happen was happening or had happened to the effect that it would make him lose his presidential re election In the days after Election Day November 3 2020 Trump also demanded that the vote counting be stopped in some swing states Pennsylvania Georgia and North Carolina where he was slowly losing his lead to Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden until Republican observers could meaningfully observe and challenge the vote counting process Concurrently Trump demanded that the vote counting be continued in the swing state of Arizona where he was catching up on Biden Several prominent members of his Republican Party including recently elected or former officials denounced Trump s claims of election fraud before during and after the 2020 United States elections as unsubstantiated baseless or without evidence as well as damaging to the election process undermining democracy and dangerous to political stability 24 25 26 In one case a former Republican member of the U S House of Representatives referred to the totality of Trump s actions as an attempted coup d etat 27 In 2021 The Republican Accountability Project estimated that 6 of national Republicans politicians consistently stood up for democracy 28 Before Election Day edit Months before Election Day Democrats regularly condemned President Trump s suggestions that widespread electoral fraud would occur especially through the use of mail in ballots a claim Trump first made on April 7 2020 29 but Republicans rarely did 30 Attempts by Politico to obtain comments from prominent Republicans on the issue mostly failed Miles Taylor former chief of staff of the Department of Homeland Security and author of I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration and Michael Steele former chairman of the Republican National Committee were among the few they could find expressing serious concerns about Trump s comments 30 Politico stated on the morning of November 3 that m any Republicans insist they are disgusted by Trump s threats they just aren t willing to say so publicly 30 November 4 Counting transparency edit After Election Day November 3 2020 in the afternoon of November 4 the Trump campaign sued Michigan and Pennsylvania alleging that they were not being given proper access to monitor the vote counting process and demanded the counting stop The Trump team declared that they had already won the state of Pennsylvania at a moment when Trump was leading by 320 000 votes but only 85 of the votes had been counted and it was known that the vote counting in the city of Philadelphia could still tip the balance in favor of Biden Eric Trump alleged that the Democrats would try to cheat in Pennsylvania 31 32 However Philadelphia City Commissioner Al Schmidt who oversaw the city s counting and was himself a Republican rejected claims that the process lacked transparency as observers were able to see everything that was happening in the counting hall 31 November 5 Trump speech alleging electoral fraud edit source source source source source source source Donald Trump s November 5 speech alleging large scale electoral fraud is at the core of the controversy According to CNBC there was mostly silence within the Republican Party shortly after Trump s speech from the White House late at night on November 5 33 Rick Santorum Ben Sasse Mitt Romney Larry Hogan and Chris Christie were among the first Republicans to criticize the President s remarks as indefensible 33 34 Combined with a statement from Nikki Haley that some deemed to concede Trump s defeat several Republicans including Trump s sons Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump rebuked other Republicans for staying silent and not supporting the President s allegations of electoral fraud 33 35 According to a Reuters Ipsos poll conducted on November 5 only about 30 of Republican Americans believed that Trump had won the election the vast majority of Americans including most Republicans believed Biden had 36 November 6 Critics and loyalists edit Some Trump loyalists such as Lindsey Graham Ted Cruz Tom Cotton and Kevin McCarthy endorsed the false claims that Trump had actually won the election and that there was large scale fraud and called on Republicans to stay united behind Trump Over 20 other leading Republicans denounced Trump s accusations of voter fraud on November 6 37 24 38 25 39 40 26 41 excessive citations Some observers concluded that statements denouncing or supporting Trump s claims were also part of a conflict inside the Republican Party over who should be their nominee for the 2024 presidential election and whether to continue Trumpist politics 35 42 In March 2021 McCarthy denied he had supported Trump s false claims of election fraud though he had supported Texas v Pennsylvania that sought to overturn voting results in four states and voted in favor of a House resolution to overturn voting results in two states 43 November 7 Several Republicans congratulate Biden while others refuse edit On November 7 most major American news networks called the election a victory for Biden when vote counting in Pennsylvania and Nevada reached the point where he would certainly receive the 270 electors votes needed for the presidency The Trump campaign refused to concede defeat and instead asserted that the election was far from over 44 Several leading Republicans including former 2012 Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney Larry Hogan John Kasich Phil Scott Adam Kinzinger Will Hurd Paul Mitchell Fred Upton Lamar Alexander Tom Reed and Jeb Bush proceeded to congratulate Biden as the new President elect and Kamala Harris as Vice President elect of the United States others such as Josh Hawley and Paul Gosar insisted that the election was not over yet until all lawful votes have been counted recounts finished and allegations of fraud addressed 45 46 47 Just before the media called the election re elected Texas Congressman Dan Crenshaw tweeted If Trump loses he loses It was never an impossible outcome and we must accept the final results when it is over to which newly elected Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene a QAnon conspiracy theory supporter responded The time to STAND UP for President Donald Trump is RIGHT NOW Republicans can t back down Crenshaw criticized her for trying to talk tough and said You re a member of Congress now Marjorie Start acting like one while stressing that any irregularity should be addressed 48 November 8 George W Bush congratulates Biden and Harris edit nbsp George W Bush this election was fundamentally fair its integrity will be upheld and its outcome is clear 49 On November 8 former president George W Bush 2001 2009 the previous Republican president congratulated President elect Joe Biden and Vice President elect Kamala Harris by phone and said in a statement The American people can have confidence that this election was fundamentally fair its integrity will be upheld and its outcome is clear He further stated The President elect reiterated that while he ran as a Democrat he will govern for all Americans I offered him the same thing I offered presidents Trump and Obama my prayers for his success and my pledge to help in any way I can While congratulating Trump on a hard fought campaign and saying he has the right to request recounts and pursue legal challenges Bush stated the election s outcome was clearly in Biden s favor 49 50 51 According to Forbes most Trump allies and congressional Republicans had by then either stayed silent or explicitly refused to congratulate Biden and Harris but the number of Republicans who did was growing 52 After Bush s declaration Trump ally Chris Christie stepped up the pressure on Trump to provide evidence of electoral fraud if he wanted Republicans to support his cause If your basis for not conceding is because there was voter fraud then show us Because if you don t show us we can t do this We can t back you blindly without evidence 53 CNN claimed two sources had said Trump s son in law and Director of the Office of American Innovation Jared Kushner had urged the President to accept the loss while a third separate source alleged that First Lady Melania Trump had tried to convince her husband as well 54 Roy Blunt repeated his earlier statement that Trump had been making baseless claims and that it s time for the president s lawyers to present the facts but when asked by ABC s George Stephanopoulos he refused to acknowledge for the time being that Biden had won Pat Toomey took a similar but softer stance 55 Kristi Noem on the other hand pushed the narrative of widespread fraud but was unable to present evidence when pressed by Stephanopoulos 55 November 9 Trump campaign announces legal challenges edit See also Lawsuits related to the 2020 United States presidential election and List of lawsuits involving Donald Trump Trump 2020 Campaign related lawsuits by state At the Four Seasons Total Landscaping press conference the Trump campaign team had announced it would formally present several legal challenges against the election process and results on Monday November 9 refusing to concede the Biden Harris victory Speaking on the condition of anonymity to the Associated Press senior officials campaign aides and allies said that t he strategy to wage a legal fight against the votes tallied for Biden in Pennsylvania and other places is more to provide Trump with an off ramp for a loss he can t quite grasp and less about changing the election s outcome Some of them even had deep reservations about the president s attempts to undermine faith in the vote 56 Similarly The Washington Post reported on Monday that b ehind the scenes Trump advisers and allies are increasingly resigned to a Biden victory according to people familiar with internal discussions who like others interviewed for this report spoke on the condition of anonymity to share private conversations 57 In response Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell stated that President Trump is 100 within his rights to look into allegations of irregularities and weigh his legal options 58 Texas senator John Cornyn and Iowa senator Chuck Grassley were among the Republicans who said that they hadn t yet seen any evidence of widespread voting fraud that could change the election while saying the President had the right to legally investigate allegations of fraud Close Trump ally Graham also referred to minor incidents that he admitted wouldn t yet change the election result and said he would accept a loss in the courts 59 That same day ABC News noted that actually very few members of the Trump administration and White House staff itself had so far explicitly supported Trump s claims of electoral fraud or asserted that he won the election Vice President Mike Pence only went so far as tweeting he stood by President Trump in saying that every legal vote should be counted and otherwise remained silent 60 Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan of the key swing state of Georgia stated We ve not had any sort of credible incidents of widespread systemic voter fraud or irregularities raised to our level yet 61 At a press conference White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany accused Democrats of encouraging fraud and illegal voting Notably Fox News decided to cut away during her speech because host Neil Cavuto found it irresponsible to continue broadcasting such an explosive charge Previously Fox News had continuously aired most of President Trump s press conferences and rallies regardless of the false claims he made during his speeches 62 In a highly contentious move U S Attorney General William Barr who had previously supported Trump s unfounded claims about voter fraud authorized the investigation of alleged voting irregularities before the states had certified the election results prompting Richard Pilger director of the elections crimes branch in the Justice Department to resign in protest 58 Pilger stated that Barr s action was abrogating the forty year old Non Interference Policy for ballot fraud investigations in the period prior to elections becoming certified and uncontested 63 Meanwhile Republican senators David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler from Georgia demanded Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to resign for failing to deliver honest and transparent elections after his voting system manager Gabriel Sterling a lifelong Republican called the claims of electoral fraud hoaxes and nonsense fake news and disinformation in a Monday morning press conference but Raffensperger also a Republican rejected the demand outright adding that any incidents of voter fraud were unlikely to tip the balance of Biden s lead of more than 12 000 votes 0 25 towards Trump for Georgia s 16 electors 64 He called Perdue and Loeffler s claim of lack of transparency laughable 65 November 10 Pompeo rejects Biden s victory while other Republicans privately acknowledge it edit nbsp Mike Pompeo There will be a smooth transition to a second Trump administration 66 On November 10 Secretary of State Mike Pompeo sparked outrage among diplomats when he told journalists during a press conference that there would be a smooth transition to a second Trump administration because he was confident that the vote counting would still result in a Trump victory 66 John Bolton National Security Advisor in the Trump administration from 2018 to 2019 who had already denounced Trump s fraud claims days earlier 40 was highly critical of Pompeo s remarks saying he had eviscerated his credibility and was delusional 67 Meanwhile Democratic senator Chris Coons from Delaware told CNN that several Republican senators had privately acknowledged President elect Joe Biden s victory to him in phone calls asking him to convey their well wishes to the President elect but they were not yet willing to do so publicly themselves At that point four Republican senators had publicly recognized Biden and Coons expected others to follow that week 68 An inquiry from The New York Times showed that throughout the country election officials representing both parties reported no evidence of significant voter fraud even though some Republican candidates running for office were casting doubt on the results without proof 65 Republican officials criticized unsupported allegations with Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose stating There s a great human capacity for inventing things that aren t true about elections The conspiracy theories and rumors and all those things run rampant 65 Kansas Republican secretary of state Scott Schwab wrote in an email Kansas did not experience any widespread systematic issues with voter fraud intimidation irregularities or voting problems 65 Republican Washington Secretary of State Kim Wyman determined the election was free of fraud Her assessment was rebuked by Republican candidate Loren Culp who lost his gubernatorial race against Democrat Jay Inslee by a large margin of 14 leading Wyman to say It s just throwing grass at the fence at this point see what sticks 65 Republican Montana Secretary of State Corey Stapleton tweeted I have supported you Mr President realDonaldTrump accomplished some incredible things during your time in office But that time is now over Tip your hat bite your lip and congratulate JoeBiden 65 November 11 Senior Republicans call on Trump to concede edit On November 11 Arizona attorney general Mark Brnovich a Republican stated that he had not found any evidence of significant fraud that could change the outcome of that state s result He said it was very highly unlikely that Trump would receive enough votes from the last remaining uncounted ballots to beat Biden s 13 000 vote lead and thus obtain Arizona s 11 electors Even without these Biden would still have 279 electors enough to gain the presidency with a large margin 69 Meanwhile pressure was mounting on Trump to concede defeat most foreign heads of state or government had already congratulated President elect Biden who a day earlier had labeled Trump s refusal to concede an embarrassment Senior Republicans who had already acknowledged the Democratic nominee s victory were publicly calling on the President to do the same with former Defense Secretary and former US Senator from Maine William Cohen describing Trump s behavior as more akin to a dictatorship than a democracy 70 Former White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card said I think it s hyperbole beyond expectation or credibility to say that somebody stole the election they didn t He said he was addressing the president but also trying to give Republicans who know this but are afraid to say it permission to say it and urged people close to the President to tell him the truth polish our democracy and polish his legacy recognize reality and begin the transition to prevent security risks 71 Massachusetts governor Charlie Baker commented I m dismayed to hear the baseless claims from the president from his team and from many other elected Republican officials in Washington I can t think of a worse time to stall a transition than amid a deadly pandemic 70 Maryland governor Larry Hogan added Most people realize that this election is over It s really dangerous I think in the middle of this pandemic this economic collapse people dying across the country to not know if we re going to have a transition 70 An editorial in the Las Vegas Review Journal owned by Republican megadonor Sheldon Adelson who had supported the Trump campaign with over 75 million dollars wrote The president does a disservice to his more rabid supporters by insisting that he would have won the Nov 3 election absent voter fraud That s simply false 72 Senate Ethics Committee Chair James Lankford a Republican senator from Oklahoma demanded the Trump administration to give President elect Biden and Vice President elect Harris access to the President s Daily Brief the daily presidential intelligence briefings on national security issues Lankford took the pragmatic position of not yet acknowledging Biden and Harris as elects while Trump s legal challenges were ongoing but recognized they would form the next administration if the lawsuits failed and said they needed to be informed about the country s pressing security issues to be prepared before taking office This practice during the presidential lame duck period was long established even during the contested 2000 presidential election Lankford argued warning he would intervene if the Trump administration would not grant Biden Harris access by the end of the week 73 November 12 Most secure election in American history edit nbsp Chris Krebs Don t share baseless claims about voting machines even if they re made by the president 74 Trump fired Krebs days later 75 On November 12 the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency CISA part of the Department of Homeland Security published a statement saying The November 3 election was the most secure in American history and that it had found no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes changed votes or was in any way compromised It was the first time that an entire agency one which Trump had in fact created in 2018 within the Trump administration contradicted the President s claims of widespread fraud and irregularities 76 The Trump appointed Director of CISA Christopher C Krebs had already been at odds with President Trump over creating a website that sought to debunk election related disinformation while a lot of such disinformation was being spread by Trump himself and other Republican Party leaders He therefore expected to be fired by the President soon for disloyalty as many other officials had been in preceding days due to conflicts with Trump over the election and other issues Nevertheless he persisted in leading his agency s efforts in combating what he saw as dangerous nonsense hoaxes and conspiracy theories such as wild and baseless claims about voting machines even if they re made by the president 74 Trump fired Krebs on November 17 77 New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu insisted there was no fraud in his state and congratulated Biden as President elect bringing the number of Republican governors denouncing Trump s claims to 5 out of 26 78 Ohio Governor Mike DeWine then did the same becoming the 6th 79 That same day 161 former national security officials who served in Democratic or Republican administrations including the Trump administration signed a letter urging the General Services Administration GSA to recognize Joe Biden as president elect as further delaying the acknowledgement posed serious risk to national security 80 November 13 Trump suffers legal setbacks edit On November 13 the Trump campaign suffered three defeats in Arizona Michigan and Pennsylvania related to his challenges against the electoral process Spokesperson Tim Murtaugh repeated claims about voting machine irregularities in Maricopa County but the Trump team dropped its lawsuit because Biden s overall lead in Arizona was too large for the disputed ballots to make a difference 81 That same day several law firms including Porter Wright Morris amp Arthur Jones Day which had supported Trump in over 20 cases in 4 years and Snell amp Wilmer that had been representing the Trump campaign or the Republican Party in some of its legal complaints withdrew their support commenting that the President s objections were pointless and they did not wish to legitimize his arguments anymore Jones Day lawyer Parker A Rider Longmaid stated I believe the question is whether this firm should lend its prestige and credibility to the project of an administration bent on undermining our democracy and our rule of law The Lincoln Project a group of anti Trump Republicans had been publicly urging employees of Jones Day and Porter Wright to resign in protest in the preceding days 82 President Trump himself reportedly also came close to conceding defeat by admitting that he may not be leading the next administration during an interview on the new COVID 19 surge saying I will not go this administration will not be going to a lockdown Hopefully the whatever happens in the future who knows which administration will be I guess time will tell But I can tell you this administration will not go to a lockdown 83 November 14 Trump criticizes Republican officials dismissing fraud edit See also Trump Raffensperger scandal On November 14 President Trump vehemently criticized Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger for dismissing claims of fraud labeling him a so called Republican RINO accusing him of obstructing investigations into fraud even though Raffensperger said the investigations were still ongoing but we have not seen something widespread In response to pressure to follow Trump s narrative Raffensperger stated People are just going to have to accept the results I m a Republican I believe in fair and secure elections His comments were supported by Republican lieutenant governor Geoff Duncan 84 Trump also attacked Philadelphia City Commissioner Al Schmidt as a so called Republican RINO alleging he refused to look at a mountain of corruption amp dishonesty Schmidt had called some of Trump s claims fantastical and completely ridiculous allegations that have no basis in fact at all 84 Similarly Republican election officials in the Dauphin and Cumberland counties refuted presidential claims of voter fraud 84 Meanwhile Republican Kent County Clerk Lisa Posthumus Lyons rejected Trump s claims that the voting system was unreliable saying it had been used before by the Michigan Republican Party she added I am 100 confident in the results in Kent County and I m confident that our canvass once its all concluded will validate that 84 Barbara Cegavske the Nevada Secretary of State and also a Republican declared that m any voter fraud complaints lack any evidence and are more complaints about process or policy 84 November 15 Confusion about partial concession edit On November 15 retweeting a Fox News video that claimed fraud Trump wrote about Biden He won because the election was rigged repeating a number of claims that have been generally dismissed as baseless Nevertheless several analysts and commentators regarded this statement as a partial concession or the start of a concession on the part of the incumbent president While asserting Trump would remain influential within the Republican Party for some time Republican Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson told NBC It was good actually to see President Trump tweet out that he won I think that s a start of an acknowledgment Trump responded He only won in the eyes of the fake news media I concede nothing 85 November 19 Biden Harris host bipartisan governor conference edit Sixteen days into Trump s refusal to concede the Biden Harris Transitional Team hosted a conference call on how to deal with COVID 19 with ten governors five of whom were Republicans Alabama Governor Kay Ivey Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson Maryland Governor Larry Hogan Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker and Utah Governor Gary Herbert President elect Biden stressed the importance of bipartisanship expressed hope for arriving at a consensus with Republican colleagues and criticized General Services Administrator Emily W Murphy s decision to delay the transition process 86 November 19 22 Legal developments edit The same day Trump campaign attorneys Rudy Giuliani Jenna Ellis Joseph diGenova and Sidney Powell who described themselves as Trump s elite strike force team spun a web of mistruths that made mention of the Clinton Foundation liberal megadonor George Soros and the late Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez 87 Powell referred to an alleged pro Biden election rigging software within polling machines issued by Dominion Voting Systems 88 89 At no time did any of the lawyers give proof of their claims 90 Trump cable news loyalist Tucker Carlson singled out the conspiratorial claims made by Powell who alleged that Venezuela Cuba and unidentified communist interests had used a secret algorithm to hack into voting machines and commit fraud noting that what Powell was describing would amount to the single greatest crime in American history 91 He said Powell became angry and told us to stop contacting her when he asked for evidence of her claims 91 On November 22 the Trump campaign distanced themselves from Powell with Ellis saying Sidney Powell is practicing law on her own She is not a member of the Trump Legal Team She is also not a lawyer for the President in his personal capacity 92 November 23 GSA ascertains Biden as apparent president elect edit General Services Administrator Emily Murphy formally sent the letter of ascertainment to Joe Biden on November 23 While Democrats and some Republicans had been pressuring her to make the ascertainment and Trump loyalists not to do so Murphy stated she made her own decision based on the official election results and developing circumstances of Trump s legal challenges Contrary to media reports and insinuations my decision was not made out of fear or favoritism Instead I strongly believe that the statute requires that the GSA Administrator ascertain not impose the apparent president elect 93 Due to the ascertainment the Biden Harris transition team obtained funding and permission to start working with Trump administration officials across federal agencies to prepare for the Biden administration s succession in January 2021 93 President Trump endorsed the GSA ascertainment in the best interest of the Country while vowing to continue his legal struggles which several people close to Trump as well as external commentators interpreted as an indirect concession 93 94 December 2 Most Republican members of Congress still side with Trump edit Over three weeks after Biden s victory speech most Republican members of Congress who commented on the presidential election still sided with Trump 95 December 5 Few Republican members of Congress recognize Biden as the winner edit Only 27 out of 249 Republicans in Congress had acknowledged Biden as the winner of the election 96 December 8 Texas v Pennsylvania rejected resolution to declare Biden president elect edit Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sues the state of Pennsylvania Texas v Pennsylvania alleging that election results from Georgia Michigan Pennsylvania and Wisconsin were invalid Within one day of Texas s filing Trump over 100 Republican Representatives and 18 Republican state attorney generals filed motions to support the case 97 98 Republican members of state legislatures also supported the assertions 99 During a meeting of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies Democrats proposed a resolution affirming Joe Biden to be president elect but Republicans voted it down The vote was 3 3 along party lines 100 101 December 14 Counterfeit electors edit On Fox News Stephen Miller stated that failed Trump electors would meet and cast a set of alternative votes 102 103 December 15 Electoral College votes to certify Biden s victory edit After the electoral college vote to certify Biden s victory more Republican senators begin to call Biden the president elect 104 Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell extended his congratulations for the first time on December 15 referring to Biden and Harris as President elect and vice president elect and stating The electoral college has spoken 105 Nonetheless in late December 2020 some Republican members in Congress 106 were reported to be considering challenging the results of the electoral college vote on January 6 2021 in an attempt to overturn Trump s loss to Biden 107 108 109 110 December 28 Rep Gohmert sues Vice President Pence edit On December 28 2020 Rep Louis Gohmert R TX challenged the constitutionality of the Electoral Count Act of 1887 claiming that the vice president should have the power and ability to unilaterally decide which slates of electoral votes get counted Vice President Pence was named as the defendant in the lawsuit 111 112 Pence responded that he is not the right person to sue especially as Gohmert s lawsuit sought to expand Pence s powers and he asked a judge to reject the lawsuit 113 The Justice Department argued on Pence s behalf that the lawsuit would make more sense if Congress were the defendant Congressional lawyers supported Pence s position as well 114 The case was dismissed on January 1 2021 for lack of both standing and jurisdiction 115 116 117 The plaintiffs immediately filed an appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on the Order of Dismissal and the accompanying Final Judgment 118 but the appeal was dismissed by a three judge panel of the court on January 2 119 December 30 Senator Hawley asserts state law violations edit Senator Josh Hawley stated some states particularly Pennsylvania failed to follow their own state election laws though multiple courts had rejected such claims 120 121 Hawley repeated the false assertion about Pennsylvania in a February 2021 fundraising email though the Pennsylvania Supreme Court had unanimously rejected the argument and the United States Supreme Court had declined to consider an appeal 122 123 Steve Scalise the 2 Republican in the House continued to make the false assertion as late as October 2021 stating during a television appearance Those states that didn t follow the law are they gonna keep doing that in the future or are we gonna get back to the what the Constitution calls out for electing our leaders 124 125 126 January 2 Republican lawmakers object to the election outcome edit On January 2 2021 Vice President Pence reportedly welcomed Republican lawmakers objections to the election outcome Senator Amy Klobuchar the top Democrat of the committee with jurisdiction over federal elections regarded the effort a publicity stunt that would fail eventually and amounted to an attempt to subvert the will of the voters 127 January 5 Senators reveal whether they will support the vote count edit Ahead of the electoral vote count on January 6 a number of senators declared their intention to oppose or support counting the electoral votes as submitted by the states 128 January 8 Nevada Republicans post manifesto predicting Trump will stay in office edit The chairman of the Nye County Republican Party in Nevada posted a manifesto online that predicted two more weeks of national crisis with high profile arrests It said that Trump would purge his Cabinet replace his vice president and ultimately remain in office Michael Ahrens RNC communications director criticized it as sounding deranged 129 January 9 Arizona Republicans draft resolution to censure Cindy McCain edit Arizona Republicans drafted a resolution to censure Cindy McCain the widow of the late Republican senator John McCain for supporting Joe Biden in the November election RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel disagreed with the effort telling the Washington Post on January 11 that although we are upset that a prominent Republican would support Joe Biden nevertheless the language in this resolution is abhorrent and the Arizona Republican Party ought to disregard it if it is presented to them later in January 129 McCain noting that the GOP had also censured her husband shrugged it off on January 14 I m in good company 130 January 12 Harvard Institute of Politics removes Rep Elise Stefanik edit The Harvard Institute of Politics senior advisory committee expressing its disapproval of Representative Elise Stefanik s R N Y false claims of election fraud said she would no longer be allowed to participate on the committee 131 January 17 Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene suspended from Twitter for 12 hours edit Twitter temporarily suspended the account of U S Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene a Republican from Georgia for multiple violations of our civic integrity policy Greene had tweeted that Americans should mobilize in opposition to these attacks on our liberties The tweet was deleted and the suspension was in effect for 12 hours 132 February 1 Sen McConnell criticizes Rep Greene edit Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Loony lies and conspiracy theories are cancer for the Republican Party and our country Though he did not name Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene his comment was understood as a rebuke of her 133 Subsequent events edit nbsp CNN fact checker Daniel Dale reported that through June 9 2021 Trump had issued 132 written statements since leaving office of which a third have included lies about the election more than any other subject 134 On April 10 2021 the Nevada Republican Party voted 126 112 to censure the Nevada Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske a Republican after her investigation concluded there had been no fraud in the state s 2020 election 135 Similarly the Georgia Republican Convention censured Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger on June 5 2021 136 In April and May 2021 the Arizona Senate Republican Caucus was still conducting an audit of November 2020 election results in Maricopa County even though the results were previously audited several times with the same outcome and state officials had long since finalized certification Republican state Sen Paul Boyer said the audit makes us look like idiots The federal Department of Justice warned the methods being used might violate federal election and civil rights laws and that the chain of custody had not been maintained 137 In response to a conspiracy theory promoted by a conservative radio show ballots were examined for bamboo content in a way experts said would not accurately detect bamboo on the implausible theory that ballots were secretly imported from South Korea 138 139 Maricopa County sheriff Paul Penzone criticized as mind numbingly reckless and irresponsible a demand by state Senate Republicans for routers which he asserted could compromise confidential sensitive and highly classified law enforcement data and equipment 140 In a May post on his blog Trump amplified a false assertion by Arizona senate president Karen Fann that an entire database of Maricopa County voter information had been deleted Maricopa County recorder Stephen Richer a Republican who oversees elections tweeted that Trump s post was unhinged noting he was looking at the database on his computer at that moment Richer added We can t indulge these insane lies any longer As a party As a state As a country 141 The Maricopa county Twitter account later tweeted a lengthy thread with the hashtag RealAuditorsDont citing examples including Release false conclusions without understanding what they are looking at and Hire known conspiracy theorists 142 143 During a May 17 meeting of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors Republicans who dominate the board sharply objected to the audit with chairman Jack Sellers chastising Fann s attempt at legitimatizing a grift disguised as an audit That day the county sent a twelve page letter to dispute Fann s earlier allegations of wrongdoing by county officials and Sellers stated the allegations were actually due to the incompetence of the auditors Board members asked party and business leaders to speak out against the audit noting they had received death threats 144 145 While Senator Lindsey Graham said on May 6 that the party can t grow without Trump 146 on May 17 he said I accept the results of the election adding 2020 is over for me 147 Fulton County Georgia which includes most of Atlanta and is dominated by Democrats was also the focus of election conspiracy theories In May 2021 a county judge granted a request to unseal 147 000 mail in ballots so they could be examined to determine if they are counterfeit Georgia had already conducted three audits including a hand recount during the weeks after the election The court case and ballot review were led by a man who has promoted various political conspiracy theories for decades His effort has been supported by some leading Georgia Republicans including former senator Kelly Loeffler 148 149 150 The insistence by Trump and his supporters throughout 2021 that the election had been stolen from him by fraud came to be characterized as an implementation of the big lie Despite no evidence of election fraud surfacing after more than a year since the election Trump and his supporters continued to insist he won and inverted the narrative to insist that saying he lost was the real big lie Polls indicated a large majority of Republicans continued to agree that Trump s false assertions were valid leading to efforts they characterized as bolstering election integrity to restrict voting and take control of the administrative management of elections Trump ally Steve Bannon said in December 2021 that we are going to take over the election apparatus January 2022 analysis conducted by NPR found that at least fifteen Republicans who denied Biden s victory were candidates for secretary of state in the 2022 elections 151 Fascism scholar Timothy Snyder observed The lie is so big that it reorders the world And so part of telling the big lie is that you immediately say it s the other side that tells the big lie Sadly but it s just a matter of record all of that is in Mein Kampf 152 On January 18 2023 new members were named to the House Oversight and Accountability Committee Thirteen of the 15 new Republicans on the committee had either voted to overturn the 2020 presidential election or are freshman members who have rejected or questioned the validity of President Joe Biden s win according to HuffPost 153 Similarly three of the five Republicans named to the House Ethics Committee on January 31 2023 had voted to overturn the 2020 election 154 Indictment edit On August 1 2023 Trump was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges related to the election investigation On August 14 2023 he was indicted by a Georgia grand jury on election racketeering charges See also edit nbsp Politics portal Big lie Propaganda technique Attempts to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election Post election lawsuits related to the 2020 U S presidential election Expulsion from the United States Congress List of Donald Trump 2020 presidential campaign endorsements List of federal political scandals in the United States List of former Trump administration officials who endorsed Joe Biden List of lawsuits involving Donald Trump List of Republicans who opposed the Donald Trump 2020 presidential campaign List of United States representatives expelled censured or reprimanded List of United States senators expelled or censured Stop the Steal Texas v Pennsylvania Sedition Caucus Republican efforts to make voting laws more restrictive following the 2020 presidential electionReferences edit McCarthy Tom December 25 2020 The Republican heroes and villains of Trump s attempt to steal the election As Donald Trump peddled baseless claims of vote fraud after 3 November democracy found out who its friends were The Guardian Archived from the original on December 25 2020 Retrieved December 25 2020 Wilkie Christina November 4 2020 Trump tries to claim victory even as ballots are being counted in several states NBC has not made a call CNBC Archived from the original on November 4 2020 Retrieved November 4 2020 Bomey Nathan November 4 2020 Facebook Twitter label Trump claims over stealing the election as potentially misleading USA Today Archived from the original on November 5 2020 Retrieved November 4 2020 Burns Alexander Martin Jonathan November 4 2020 As America Awaits a Winner Trump Falsely Claims He Prevailed The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on November 4 2020 Retrieved November 4 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Emilie Leonia Brzezinski MSNBC Just so people who think this to call this a coup is hyperbolic or an attempted coup you just look at the definition in Wikipedia it says Typically it s an illegal unconstitutional attempt to seize power by a political faction Definition of a coup Of course if he s already in power it d be an autocoup But at the same time you look at the definition and if I guess I would just say to Trump defenders if it s not an attempted coup if it s not an illegal unconstitutional attempt to seize power by a political faction when he s trying to call people to the White House to get them to change their votes trying to call the Governor of Arizona to try to stop him from doing legally what he has to do which is to certify the election results trying to get those in Michigan and Wayne County to illegally not certify the votes there if Republicans don t think it s a coup or doesn t fit this definition of a coup in all four corners then I d love to hear what they would 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out for this misinformation when Congress meets to certify the election The New York Times Canipe Chris February 4 2021 The Republicans who voted to overturn the election Reuters Corn David February 23 2021 Josh Hawley Is Fundraising Off Lies About the Big Lie Mother Jones Sprunt Barbara December 8 2020 Supreme Court Rejects GOP Bid To Reverse Pennsylvania Election Results NPR Naranjo Jesse February 21 2021 Rep Scalise Don t pinpoint blame on Trump Politico No 2 House Republican refuses to say election wasn t stolen PBS NewsHour October 10 2021 Retrieved October 11 2021 Meyer Ken February 21 2021 ABC s Jon Karl Repeatedly Grills Steve Scalise Does Trump Bear Responsibility for Capitol Riots Mediaite Broadwater Luke January 2 2021 Pence Welcomes Bid to Overturn Biden s Election as Republican Senators Join The vice president s office said he welcomed the efforts of a group of Republican lawmakers who plan to object to the outcome of the election The New York Times Archived from the original on January 2 2021 Retrieved January 2 2021 Uhrmacher Kevin Muyskens John January 5 2021 Where Senate Republicans stand on counting the electoral college vote The Washington Post Archived from the original on January 11 2021 Retrieved January 5 2021 a b Scherer Michael January 11 2021 War for the soul Capitol riot elevates GOP power struggle between pro Trump conspiracy theorists and party establishment Washington Post ISSN 0190 8286 Retrieved January 11 2021 Williams Jordan January 14 2021 Cindy McCain on possible GOP censure I think I m going to make T shirts The Hill Retrieved January 15 2021 Bendery Jennifer January 12 2021 GOP Rep Elise Stefanik Loses Harvard Post For Lying About Election Fraud HuffPost Retrieved January 13 2021 Karanth Sanjana January 17 2021 Twitter Temporarily Suspends QAnon Rep For Election Disinformation Inciting Violence HuffPost Retrieved January 17 2021 Dean Jessica Kelly Caroline February 2 2021 McConnell Marjorie Taylor Greene s views are a cancer for the GOP CNN Retrieved February 2 2021 Dale Daniel June 12 2021 Trump is doing more lying about the election than talking about any other subject CNN Archived from the original on June 16 2021 Similar graphic in source attributed to Janie Boschma CNN Scherer Michael May 25 2021 Nevada GOP thrown into turmoil after avowed Proud Boys member said he participated in censure vote of state official Washington Post Retrieved May 26 2021 Janfaza Rachel Hackney Deanna June 5 2021 Kemp booed and Raffensperger censured at Georgia GOP convention CNN Retrieved June 6 2021 Schnell Mychael May 10 2021 Republican says embarrassing Arizona recount makes us look like idiots The Hill The great bamboo hunt Arizona s bizarre vote examination effort gets more bizarre Inside Arizona s election audit GOP fraud fantasies live on AP NEWS May 10 2021 Fifield Jen Maricopa County Sheriff Paul Penzone blasts Arizona Senate s election audit demand as a risk to law enforcement The Arizona Republic Multiple sources Neff Terri Jo May 13 2021 Deleted Election Files And Ballot Handling Concerns Prompt Senate President To Beckon Maricopa County Officials To State Capitol Republican Arizona election official says Trump unhinged AP NEWS May 16 2021 Roberts Laurie Trump says Arizona auditors have found unbelievable election crime This is nonsense The Arizona Republic Fifield Jen Maricopa County supervisors holding meeting Monday to refute election auditors claims The Arizona Republic Bump Philip May 17 2021 The fight that encapsulates the GOP s struggle is happening in Arizona not Washington The Washington Post Arizona Republicans fight back against election fraud claims Star Tribune Archived from the original on May 18 2021 Retrieved May 18 2021 Wines Michael May 17 2021 Arizona G O P Is Split on Vote Review We Can t Indulge These Insane Lies The New York Times Shabad Rebecca May 7 2021 Sen Lindsey Graham says the GOP can t move forward without Trump NBC News Retrieved May 18 2021 Dicker Ron May 18 2021 Lindsey Graham I Accept The Results Of The Election HuffPost Retrieved May 18 2021 Judge rules Fulton County absentee ballots to be unsealed reviewed after fraud claims NBC News May 21 2021 Eric Bradner May 24 2021 Arizona and Georgia audits move forward as Republicans continue to push election fraud lies CNN Epstein Reid J Corasaniti Nick May 24 2021 Long After Trump s Loss a Push to Inspect Ballots Persists The New York Times Parks Miles January 4 2022 Here s where election denying candidates are running to control voting NPR Multiple sources Block Melissa December 23 2021 The clear and present danger of Trump s enduring Big Lie National Public Radio Retrieved December 23 2021 Corasaniti Nick March 24 2021 Republicans Aim to Seize More Power Over How Elections Are Run The New York Times Tim Reid Nathan Layne Jason Lange Special Report Backers of Trump s false fraud claims seek to control next elections September 22 2021 Reuters Epstein Reid J November 9 2021 Wisconsin Republicans Push to Take Over the State s Elections The New York Times Amy Gardner Tom Hamburger Josh Dawsey November 29 2021 Trump allies work to place supporters in key election posts across the country spurring fears about future vote challenges The Washington Post Collinson Stephen September 16 2021 Trump s Big Lie is changing the face of American politics CNN Graziosi Graig December 21 2021 Evil takes no breaks Warnings as Steve Bannon vows to take over America s entire election apparatus The Independent Bendery Jennifer January 19 2023 Kevin McCarthy Has Packed The House Oversight Committee With Election Deniers HuffPost Retrieved January 20 2023 Bendery Jennifer January 31 2023 The GOP s House Ethics Committee Will Be Led By An Election Denier HuffPost Retrieved January 31 2023 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Republican reactions to Donald Trump 27s claims of 2020 election fraud amp oldid 1218127229, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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