Last night we reported that Richard Hopkins, an Erie, Pennsylvania postal worker, fabricated allegations that his supervisor instructed employees to backdate ballots, accusations picked up by the Trump administration, Senator Lindsey Graham, and Attorney General Bill Barr, who gave unprecedented orders to DOJ prosecutors to investigate voter fraud.
As that revelation rolled out, Trump allies were appearing on FOX News to argue the president’s baseless claims, brandishing papers and listening to anonymous sources with disguised voices.
Here’s a sampling:
Meanwhile, the main story in the New York Times: “Election officials in dozens of states representing both political parties said that there was no evidence that fraud or other irregularities played a role in the outcome of the presidential race, amounting to a forceful rebuke of President Trump’s portrait of a fraudulent election.”
And the Washington Post reports that inside Trump’s inner circle, his closest allies believe all the lawsuits don’t have a chance: “Some of the president’s most publicly pugilistic aides, including White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel and informal adviser Corey Lewandowski, have said privately that they are concerned about the lawsuits’ chances for success unless more evidence surfaces, according to people familiar with their views.”
