Donald Trump's lawyers think the election was not rigged despite his incorrect tweets that said it was
The President-elect falsely tweeted that 'millions' had voted illegally
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.While President-elect Donald Trump continues to incorrectly insist that massive voter fraud occurred on Election Day – causing Hillary Clinton to win the popular vote – even his own attorneys cannot agree with his theories.
In fillings to block Green Party candidate Jill Stein’s recount initiative, lawyers for the Trump campaign confirmed that they found no evidence of discrepancies in how the votes were counted.
Late last month, Dr Stein launched a fundraiser to file for recounts in key states, including Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin – all crucial factors in Hillary Clinton’s loss.
But the Trump team accused her of attempting disenfranchisement in a filing against the recount in a Michigan court, according to the Washington Post.
“On what basis does Stein seek to disenfranchise Michigan citizens? None really, save for speculation,” they wrote. “All available evidence suggests that the 2016 general election was not tainted by fraud or mistake.”
In their filing against the Pennsylvania recount, Mr Trump’s lawyers dismiss Dr Stein’s accusations, but are not quite as absolute in their statement.
“On what basis does Stein seek to disenfranchise the voters of the Keystone state? None, really,” it says. “There is no evidence – or even any allegation – that any tampering with Pennsylvania’s voting systems actually occurred.”
Shortly after Thanksgiving, Mr Trump alleged that millions of illegal votes were cast against him, and provided more evidence. He also called him win a “landslide” despite the fact that Ms Clinton won the popular vote by more than 2.5 million votes.
“In addition to winning the Electoral College in a landslide, I won the popular vote if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally,” he tweeted.
The President-elect continued: “Serious voter fraud in Virginia, New Hampshire, and California – so why isn’t the media reporting on this? Serious problem – big problem!”
Former chair of the Republican National Committee and incoming White House chief of staff Reince Priebus told CBS that it was certainly “possible” that millions of undocumented immigrants voted for Ms Clinton. Still, like his new boss, he cited no evidence in support of the claim.
Similarly, the highest ranking Republican official, House Speaker Paul Ryan did not repudiate Mr Trump’s false allegation. When asked about Mr Trump’s tweet, he simply told 60 Minutes he did not know if the claim had weight. He said he was “not really focused on these things”.