Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) says President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign has a right to request recounts and bring legal challenges that have a basis.
However, he says it is “poisonous” and “extremely dangerous” to American democracy to file “frivolous claims” that do not have a “basis in facts and evidence.”
During a speech on the Senate floor on Monday, Schumer said, “And make no mistake, there has been no evidence of any significant or widespread voter fraud. Joe Biden won this election fair and square, the margins of his victory are growing by the day.”
He also praised former President George W. Bush (R) for “commendably” congratulating President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on winning the election.
“Now Republican leaders in Congress should also do the right thing. Republican leaders must unequivocally condemn the president’s rhetoric and work to ensure the peaceful transfer of power on January 20,” he added.
He also acknowledged that four Republican senators, including Susan Collins (Maine), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Mitt Romney (Utah), and Ben Sasse (Neb.) have all offered their congratulations to Biden.
Finally, he noted that there is no law that requires a president to officially concede the election. Still, he added, “As history prepares to write the final few sentences on the Trump presidency, it will surely note how this president and his Republican allies here in Congress treated our democracy on his way out the door.”
Watch the video below:
.@SenSchumer: "There is no legal right to file frivolous claims. Lawsuits must have basis in facts and evidence…there has been no evidence of any significant or widespread voter fraud. Joe Biden won this election fair and square."
— CSPAN (@cspan) November 9, 2020
Full video here: https://t.co/GBRhWZyN1i pic.twitter.com/4GhwYURHmO
The Associated Press has called the election for Biden, as IJR reported. However, Trump has indicated that he is not yet ready to concede the election.
In a statement on Saturday, he said, “The simple fact is this election is far from over.” He continued to say that his campaign would “start prosecuting our case in court to ensure election laws are fully upheld, and the rightful winner is seated.”
He also claimed that Biden “wants ballots counted even if they are fraudulent, manufactured, or cast by ineligible or deceased voters.”
However, the campaign has not provided evidence of widespread fraud despite filing several legal challenges and making such claims in the press.
Georgia’s Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan (R) told CNN on Monday, “We’ve not had any sort of credible incidents raised to our level yet.”
“And so we’ll continue to make sure that the opportunity to make sure every legal ballot is counted is there. But, you know, at this point, we’ve not seen any sort of credible examples,” he added.
