WASHINGTON (AP) – Republican Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska has issued a scathing reprimand of the GOP’s attempts to object to the presidential election on January 6, warning colleagues against a ‘dangerous ploy’ that the civilian can damage traditions of the country. .
Sasse, a potential presidential candidate in 2024, posted a lengthy outline of his views on social media on Thursday, including a paragraph by paragraph deleting the allegations of voter fraud in key states won by President-elect Joe Biden. Sasse said he feels compelled to speak “truth” as voters and those who support President Donald Trump want to know where he stands on the issue.
“I will not take part in a project to stop the election,” Sasse wrote. He said he wanted to explain “why I also urge my colleagues to reject this dangerous ploy.”
Trump, the first president to lose a re-election bid in nearly 30 years, attributed his defeat to widespread voter fraud, despite non-partisan election officials saying there was none. He urged Republican senators to pursue his unfounded charges, though Electoral College confirmed Biden’s 306-232 victory this month and several legal attempts to challenge the results failed.
Sasse’s mission offers the Republican Party a different path to the post-Trump era, in stark contrast to other Republicans – most notably Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo. – which presents the challenge during next week’s joint congress.
Hawley became the first GOP senator to announce objections this week when Congress convenes to confirm Biden’s victory during the election, the House and Senate votes are likely to delay the final certification – but do not change of Biden’s victory.
Other Republican senators are expected to join Hawley, wary of giving the spotlight to him as they also try to emerge as leaders in a post-Trump era.
Some Republicans in the Democratic majority, the House has already said they will object on behalf of Trump during the January 6 count, and they only needed one senator to enforce their votes in both chambers.
Sasse envisioned the ‘swampy’ nature of Trump’s fundraising of the election challenge, as he set out his reasons for believing that Biden’s election victory was valid.
“Since election day, the president and his affiliates have raised more than half a billion (billion!) Dollars from supporters who believe they are contributing to a brutal legal defense,” Sasse wrote. ‘But in reality, they usually give the president and his allies a blank check that can go to their super-PACs, their next plane ride, their next campaign or project. This is not serious. This is swampy politics. ”
He poses the election challenges posed by Trump’s legal team in Nebraska terms.
Sasse wrote that he could not ‘just claim that the College Football Playoff Selection Committee’ is in progress’ because they did not send the Cornhuskers to the Rose Bowl, and then – after I did not prove that anyone in the Selection was not. The committee is corrupt – arguing that we should investigate because of these pervasive ‘allegations’ of corruption. ‘
With 160 million votes nationwide, there will be fraud, he said, but nothing within the scope of the election.
“We have good reason to think that this year’s election was fair, safe and law abiding,” Sasse wrote. “That does not mean it was flawless. But there is no evidence to completely distrust our elections, or to conclude that the results do not reflect the ballots that our fellow citizens actually cast. ”
Without giving details or evidence, Hawley said on Wednesday he would object because “some states, including Pennsylvania,” do not follow their own election laws. Some states have made changes to their electoral procedures, such as extending the absence of votes, to accommodate voters during the coronavirus pandemic, the worst U.S. public health emergency in a century. Lawsuits challenging Biden’s victory in Pennsylvania fail.
“Congress must at least investigate the allegations of voter fraud and take measures to ensure the integrity of our election,” Hawley said in a statement. He also criticized the way Facebook and Twitter handled the election-related content, describing it as an attempt to help Biden.
Jen Psaki, a spokeswoman for the Biden transition team, dismissed Hawley’s move as ‘antics’ that would have no bearing on Biden’s swearing in on 20 January.
“The American people spoke out loud in this election and 81 million people voted for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris,” Psaki said in a call to reporters.
Trump is returning from his Florida vacation on Thursday, one day earlier than expected, for reasons the White House did not explain.
When Congress convenes to confirm the results of the Electoral College, any legislature may on any grounds object to the votes of a state. However, the objection shall not be taken unless it is in writing and signed by both a member of the House and a member of the Senate.
If there is such a request, the joint sitting is suspended and the House and Senate hold separate sittings to consider it. To uphold the objection, both chambers must agree to it by a simple majority vote. If they do not agree, the original votes are counted.
As Senate President, Vice President Mike Pence will chair the January 6 session and declare the winner.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Asked his caucus not to run in a futile quest to reverse the results.
A series of impartial election officials and Republicans confirmed that there was no fraud in the November race that would change the outcome of the election. These include former attorney general William Barr, who said he sees no reason to appoint a special advocate to investigate the president’s demands over the 2020 election. He resigned from his post last week.
Trump and his allies have filed about 50 lawsuits challenging election results, and nearly all have been fired or dropped. He also lost twice at the U.S. Supreme Court.
The group of Republicans from the House said they plan to challenge the election results from Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Georgia and Nevada. All are states that Biden carried.
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Associated Press author Aamer Madhani in Chicago contributed to this report.