Fox News host Chris Wallace suggested on Wednesday that President Donald Trump had incited a "mob" after the president encouraged an election protest in Washington, D.C. that devolved into violence.
"What we're really talking about and what we're seeing today is the rule of the mob vs. the rule of law and the Constitution," Wallace said. "You have the president for an hour filling a crowd with misstatements, with facts that have been absolutely shredded in state courts, in federal courts, by Trump judges, by a conservative majority in the Supreme Court, by Trump's own attorney general."
"He says the election was stolen from me, a lot of people are going to believe that," he observed.
Wallace also blasted attempts by Republican lawmakers to reject the results of the Electoral College.
"Four years from now, it might be the Republicans win and the Democrats have control of the Congress and they say let's have a commission and overturn the will of 150 million American people," he warned. "I mean, what's going on here?"
President Donald Trump on Wednesday publicly called for Vice President Mike Pence to do the "right thing" by refusing to officially accept President-elect Joe Biden's Electoral College victory.
At a "Stop the Steal" rally in Washington, D.C., Trump egged on thousands of supporters who were demanding that the 2020 election be overturned.
"What an absolute disgrace that this could be happening to our Constitution," Trump opined. "And I hope Mike is going to do the right thing. I hope so."
"Because if Mike Pence does the right thing, we win the election," he continued. "All he has to do -- this is from the number one or certainly one of the top constitutional lawyers in our country. He has the absolute right to do it. We're supposed to protect our country, support our country, support our Constitution and protect our Constitution."
Trump claimed that the "states want to revote."
"The states got defrauded, they were given false information, they voted on it," he said. "Now they want to recertify, they want it back."
Trump added: "All Vice President Pence has to do is send it back to the states to recertify and we become president and you are the happiest people."
The president revealed that he had recently spoken to Pence about rejecting the results of the Electoral College.
"I just spoke to Mike and I said, 'Mike, that doesn't take courage. What takes courage is to do nothing,'" Trump asserted. "And then we're stuck with a president who lost the election by a lot and we have to live with that for four more years. We're just not going to let that happen."
Fox News host Chris Wallace on Wednesday blasted a plan by some Republican lawmakers to vote to object to the results of the 2020 election.
During an appearance on Fox News, Wallace explained why the Republican plan is more offensive than when Democrats objected to then-President George W. Bush's re-election in 2005.
"I think that the point that needs to be made is how extraordinary this is," the Fox News host said. "We have never seen what we're going to see today. People point back to 2005 when George W. Bush beat John Kerry and a congresswoman from Ohio and Sen. Barbara Boxer of California both objected and both sides went into their separate chambers to debate for two hours about the vote in Ohio."
"The difference is that John Kerry, the failing candidate then, had already conceded and, in fact, he was very much discouraging and disavowing Barbara Boxer's effort to hold this objection," he continued. "And in fact, when it got to the Senate, she lost by a vote of 74 to 1."
Wallace pointed out that around 100 Republican lawmakers were expected to object on Wednesday.
"You've got the sitting Republican president who's going to be making a speech in a few minutes saying the election was stolen from him," the Fox News host noted. "We have never, ever seen anything like this."
According to Wallace, Jan. 6 is "usually the day when people in our Democracy behave well."
"Usually this is the point when everybody comes together," he remarked. "Losing hurts but they sit there and say for the greater good country and in keeping with our democracy and our Constitution, we're going to recognize that the person who got the most electoral votes won the election."
"And the fact that that's not going to happen today is kind of sad," Wallace added.
A speaker at a pro-Trump rally in Washington, D.C. encouraged mask-free protesters to hug each other while bragging that it was a "mass-spreader event" on Tuesday.
The so-called "Prayer to Save America" protest was part of a larger "Stop the Steal" effort to overturn President Donald Trump's 2020 election loss.
"Turn the person next to him and give him a hug, someone you don't know," the speaker said. "Go hug somebody. Go ahead and spread it out, mass spreader. It's a mass-spreader event! It's a mass-spreader event! It's a mass-spreader event!"
"There you go. Hug it out!" he added. "I'm married but if you want to give me a hug too, you can do that."
The protest is expected to increase in size before Congress meets to accept the results of the Electoral College on Wednesday.
Watch the video below.
"I'm going to give everyone three action steps ... turn to the person next to you and give them a hug. Someone you don't know ... it's a mass-spreader event! It's a mass-spreader event!" pic.twitter.com/NVRN9HdzSl — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 5, 2021
Trump campaign adviser Lara Trump on Tuesday struggled to explain why President Donald Trump may be flying to Scotland a day before President-elect Joe Biden is scheduled to be sworn in.
"According to reports, President Trump could be headed to Scotland instead of to the swearing in," Varney announced to the president's daughter-in-law. "Can you straighten us out on this? Because we've got reports from Scotland that an American plane, a White House plane is booked to land near President Trump's resort in Scotland on January the 19th. What's his Inauguration Day plan?"
Lara Trump responded with a nervous laugh before suggesting that the results of the Electoral College could be overturned when Congress meets on January 6.
"I think we still have to see what happens tomorrow," Trump said. "I don't really know yet anything about Scotland. Um, look, there is a reality that it could be Donald Trump who gets inaugurated on January 20th. We still have to wait and see what happens."
"We have a bunch of senators that are calling for an investigation now," she continued, "to see about all the voter fraud and the questions surrounding this particular election. So who knows ultimately what will happen."
"Forgive me for interrupting, Lara," Varney chimed in. "I think that's a real stretch. That is a major leagues long shot to suggest that Donald J. Trump will be re-inaugurated 15 days from now."
"It may be a stretch," Trump agreed. "But I think my point is there's a lot that has to happen between now and Inauguration Day so, look, we'll have to see what happens."
"I don't know the president's plans on Inauguration Day so unfortunately I can't speak to whether or not he'll be in Scotland," she added.
Fox News host Will Cain on Monday claimed that the "entire society is rigged" against people who support President Donald Trump.
During a segment about GOP lawmakers who plan to challenge the Electoral College results, Cain claimed that "Republicans can be forgiven for their skepticism" about the election.
"Because whether or not an election was rigged, it certainly feels like society is rigged right now," Cain opined. "From the complete squelching of dissent on college campuses, inside the media institutions, to being lied [to] about the Hunter Biden story, to watching President Trump impeached, every step of the way watching President Trump undermined, his legitimacy questioned."
He continued: "When you deal with that, not just for four years, but decades, you start to think, if not an election, the entire society is rigged against people who hold my values."
"At some point, you begin to understand that kind of skepticism," Cain said, referring to the election results.
Co-host Pete Hegseth agreed.
"The more you're told not to question, the more you're told not to challenge, the more you start to feel like something's not right here," he said.
In a court filing submitted in late December as part of a lawsuit contesting the status of Trump administration officials serving unconfirmed in "temporary" positions, lawyers with the U.S. Justice Department argued the case should be tossed out because the issue would soon "be moot" given that President Donald Trump lost the 2020 elections and would soon leave the Oval Office.
"The White House and the Department of Justice are not on the same page about the legitimacy of Joe Biden's election as President."
—Tim Whitehouse
The admission by the DOJ flies in the face of incessant false claims by Trump that he won in November and continued vows that he will fight to the bitter end to prove—against all evidence and reality—the election was rigged, fraudulent, or otherwise illegitimate.
"They're not going to take the White House. We're going to fight like hell," Trump declared Monday night during a campaign rally in Georgia. "When you win in a landslide and they steal it and it's rigged, it's not acceptable."
The DOJ filing (pdf) itself, dated December 23, was in response to a lawsuit brought by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) which argued that the service of top officials at the National Park Service and Bureau of Land Management was unlawful because they were appointed by Trump and continued to lead the agencies without Senate confirmation—a direct violation of the Federal Vacancies Reform Act (FVRA). The officials named in the lawsuit are Margaret Everson at the Park Service and William Pendley at BLM.
Allowing unconfirmed officials to serve despite the clear violation of the FVRA has been the subject of numerous legal challenges across several federal agencies under Trump during the second half of his term. In the DOJ's filing on this specific lawsuit, one of the arguments for having the court dismiss the case was that soon enough there would no longer be reason to pursue the objections put forth by PEER. It stated:
Plaintiffs' request for prospective injunctive relief against Mr. Pendley and Ms. Everson will become moot on January 20, 2021 when a new administration is sworn into office. At that time, Mr. Pendley and Ms. Everson will, presumably, leave office, requiring that the prospective claims against them must be dismissed. (citations omitted)
While Trump lashed out after former Attorney General William Barr, who resigned last month, said a DOJ review found no evidence of widespread voter fraud that would materially impact the outcome of the election, the DOJ's admission in this particular lawsuit was highlighted by PEER in a statement Tuesday.
"The White House and the Department of Justice are not on the same page about the legitimacy of Joe Biden's election as president," said Tim Whitehouse, PEER's executive director. "The official position of the lawyers representing the people of the United States is that there will be a new President on January 20."
Though the in-court acknowledgement by the DOJ of Trump's defeat was notable, Whitehouse does not submit to the argument that the lawsuit itself is moot simply because the president is leaving office. As PEER notes in its statement, the implications of having unconfirmed officials administering major government agencies is that the policies initiated under their command should also be considered unlawful and illegitimate by the court.
"During the past four years, the Justice Department has been repeatedly tasked to defend actions that are indefensible," said Whitehouse, who before joining PEER served as an attorney with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. "It remains to be seen how the Justice Department's posture will change after January 20th in handling scores of lawsuits challenging Trump actions that the incoming Biden administration indicates they will repudiate."
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger tangled with Fox News host Sandra Smith after she accused him of putting the country in "jeopardy" by releasing a contentious telephone call with President Donald Trump, who pressured him to overturn the election.
During the interview on Fox News, Smith repeatedly badgered the Georgia official about his past statements suggesting that absentee ballots are not secure. Raffensperger pointed out that he is following the law by permitting the use of drop boxes and mail-in voting.
Smith then went after him over the Trump telephone call, which created a firestorm of criticism for the president when it was released.
"It sounds to the casual observer that you are getting very political in nature," Smith said. "It appears to be an attack on the president. I'll ask you about the leaked phone call now that you had with the president that you have gone on the record with one of my colleagues saying you thought it was important to leak that phone call."
"Others might say that was a phone call with the president of the United States," she continued. "His team is pushing back saying that was a confidential phone call. Why did you decide to leak that?"
"It wasn't a confidential conversation," Raffensperger objected. "It was a phone call that I didn't really know what the outline of the meeting was. There was not preset meeting with lawyer to lawyer but we did have our attorney on there since the Trump campaign has sued the governor of Georgia."
The Secretary of State noted that it was Trump who had first divulged the call on Twitter.
"He stated what his positions were and they weren't factually supported," Raffensperger explained. "I corrected him on the phone call on Saturday and obviously last night he said the same pieces of disinformation."
Smith interrupted: "Sir, you have gone on record and said you believe your numbers will be supported in the court of law. So why did you go the avenue of leaking a phone call with the president. Don't you worry about the precedent that that sets?"
Raffensperger again pointed out that Trump initially made the call public.
"He has 80 million Twitter followers and I understand the power he has behind him," he observed. "We have 40,000. I get all that. But he's continued to be misled or he continues, he doesn't want to believe in facts."
Smith cut him off again: "The question is why not let it play out in court? Why put into jeopardy, you know, our country by leaking a phone call of that nature and not just let your numbers and your facts play out in the court of law?"
"I don't understand how truth would ever jeopardize the country," Raffensperger replied. "We're standing on the facts, we're standing on the truth. And so we have the numbers here. You want to come over here to our office, come on by."
A federal judge on Monday declined to issue an injunction that Republicans hoped would stop Congress from officially accepting the results of the 2020 election.
In his ruling, D.C. District Court Judge James Boasberg outlined the goals of the lawsuit, which was filed by the Wisconsin Voters Alliance and several Republican lawmakers.
Plaintiffs' aims in this election challenge are bold indeed: they ask this Court to declare unconstitutional several decades-old federal statutes governing the appointment of electors and the counting of electoral votes for President of the United States; to invalidate multiple state statutes regulating the certification of Presidential votes; to ignore certain Supreme Court decisions; and, the coup de grace, to enjoin the U.S. Congress from counting the electoral votes on January 6, 2021, and declaring Joseph R. Biden the next President.
Boasberg said that his court would deny the motion.
"In addition to being filed on behalf of Plaintiffs without standing and (at least as to the state Defendants) in the wrong court and with no effort to even serve their adversaries, the suit rests on a fundamental and obvious misreading of the Constitution," he wrote. "It would be risible were its target not so grave: the undermining of a democratic election for President of the United States."
The judge also hinted at "potential discipline of Plaintiffs' counsel."
"Courts are not instruments through which parties engage in such gamesmanship or symbolic political gestures," Boasberg pointed out. "As a result, at the conclusion of this litigation, the Court will determine whether to issue an order to show cause why this matter should not be referred to its Committee on Grievances for potential discipline of Plaintiffs' counsel."
A crowd of President Donald Trump's supporters heckled Vice President Mike Pence on Monday in an effort to have him reject results of the Electoral College vote on Jan. 6.
During a rally in Georgia, Pence made the case for Republicans to vote in the Georgia Senate runoffs despite Trump's claim that the elections are not secure.
"I need you to do a few things," Pence said before being interrupted.
"Do the right thing Jan. 6!" a man in the crowd yelled, referring to Pence's constitutional obligation to officially accept the Electoral College votes.
Late last year, Republican lawmakers filed a lawsuit that they hoped would give Pence the power to reject votes from states where Trump lost. A federal judge dismissed the lawsuit on Friday.
Pence seemed to purposefully talk over the man who was heckling him.
"Vote to send Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue back to D.C.!" he exclaimed. "You know, I know we've all got our doubts about the last election. And I want to assure you, I share the concerns of millions of Americans about voting irregularities."
As Pence spoke, some members of the crowd continued to heckle him, while others cheered.
"And I promise you, come this Wednesday, we'll have our day in Congress," Pence said. "We'll hear the objections We'll hear the evidence. But tomorrow is Georgia's day. So for our faith, for our freedom, we need you to vote, Georgia!"
"If you don't vote, there could be nothing stopping Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi from cutting our military, raising taxes and passing the agenda of the radical left," he added.
In a statement on Monday, the White House explained that Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) is being awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom because he "uncovered the greatest scandal in American history" by opposing the investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 election.
"In 2017, Congressman Nunes launched an investigation into the Obama-Biden administration's misconduct during the 2016 election," the statement said. "Devin Nunes' courageous actions helped thwart a plot to take down a sitting United States president."
"Congressman Nunes pursued the Russia Hoax at great personal risk and never stopped standing up for the truth," the statement continued. "He had the fortitude to take on the media, the FBI, the Intelligence Community, the Democrat [sic] Party, foreign spies, and the full power of the Deep State."
According to the White House, Nunes was "smeared" by liberals.
"Congressman Devin Nunes is a public servant of unmatched talent, unassailable integrity, and unwavering resolve," the statement concluded. "He uncovered the greatest scandal in American history."
Read the entire statement below.
NEW: @WhiteHouse confirms Trump is awarding the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Devin Nunes.
"Nunes is a public servant of unmatched talent, unassailable integrity, and unwavering resolve. He uncovered the greatest scandal in American history." pic.twitter.com/agnEJU5IgX — Andrew Solender (@AndrewSolender) January 4, 2021
Fox Business host Stuart Varney on Monday challenged Trump campaign adviser Hogan Gidley to explain why President Donald Trump had pressured a Georgia official to overturn the results of the election in a hour-long telephone call.
"The markets are clearly worried about tomorrow's elections in Georgia," Varney explained to Gidley. "And the president, he's going there having pressured in this leaked phone call [the] Georgia Secretary of State to 'find' more votes."
"I'm not sure that's going down well in Georgia," the Fox Business host noted. "Are you a bit worried?"
"That's not what the president did," Gidley insisted. "This man, President Donald Trump, is the same behind the scenes as he is in public."
Gidley went on to claim that he had "hard evidence" that "proves" the election was filled with fraud and irregularities.
"Would you, if you could, would you withdraw that phone call?" Varney pressed. "And never make it in the first place? Withdraw it because it's not going down well, Hogan."
"Well, again, this is the media we're talking about," Gidley scoffed. "It's not the first time that a presidential phone call has been leaked by the other side of a conversation and the media runs with it like it's some big revelation. It is clearly not."
The president's adviser added: "And the disgusting immorality of a statewide elected official, to have a conversation with the president of the United States, record that conversation and then selectively leak pieces of it to help himself politically and you think he has complete and total transparency and honesty about an election at this point? Give me a break."
Perdue told Fox News host Sandra Smith that he found the leaking of the call to be "disgusting."
"I did say that it was disgusting," Perdue explained. "I guess I was raised differently, Sandra. Because my mom and dad were school teachers. But to have a state-wide elected official -- regardless of party -- to tape without disclosing a conversation, a private conversation with the president of the United States and then leaking it to the press is disgusting."
"But I didn't hear anything in that tape that the president hasn't already said for weeks now since the November election, calling for some sort of investigations, some sort of resolution to the improprieties and the irregularities that we now see happened in November here," he continued.
Smith noted that one conservative constitutional scholar has said that the telephone call was "breathtaking" and that other Republicans have also expressed outrage.
"So, sir, you've reacted to the leaking of that call and the actual taping of it," she continued. "Got it. But what about the contents of that call?"
Perdue argued that "75 million Americans" agree with Trump's assessment of the election.
"Something untoward happened here in Georgia," Perdue said. "And we have not gotten to the bottom of it."
"Until somebody looks at that, I've been calling for weeks to object to the electors," the candidate added.
Smith pressed: "Just to be clear, the ballots in your state were counted three times, including a mandatory hand count and a Trump-requested recount. So you're asking for more than that, more should be done than that."
"Sandra, I never called for a recount," Perdue replied. "That was a waste of time, a hand count and a machine recount. That's not what I've been saying. I've been saying all along that there are things that went on around the signatures that we have not been given answers to."
