US election security officials reject Trump’s fraud claims

U.S. federal election officials have declared the 2020 White House vote “the safest in American history,” dismissing President Donald Trump’s fraud allegations.

“There is no evidence that a voting system suppressed or lost votes, altered votes or was compromised in any way,” the committee said.

They came out after Mr Trump claimed without evidence that 2.7 million votes for him were “cut” in last week’s election.

He has yet to concede to the expected winner, Democrat Joe Biden.

The result was announced by US media last weekend, but some counts are continuing.

Mr Trump has launched a wave of legal challenges to planned results in key states and made unsubstantiated allegations of widespread voter fraud.

A Department of Homeland Security unit that worked to safeguard America’s voting systems for the November 3 presidential election released a joint statement on Thursday.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (Cisa) committee said: “While we are aware that there are many unfounded allegations and opportunities for disinformation about the process of our elections, we can assure you that we have the most have great confidence in the security and integrity of our election, and you should too.

“When you have questions, turn to election officials, who are voices of confidence, when administering elections.

Cisa chief Christopher Krebs said he expected to be sacked by the Trump administration, according to Reuters news agency.

He reported that Mr. Krebs had incurred the White House’s discontent over a Cisa website called Rumor Control, which debunks election misinformation.

On Thursday, Mr Krebs shared a post from an electoral law expert who said: “Please do not retweet far-fetched and baseless claims about voting machines, even if made by the president.”

Cisa deputy director Bryan Ware resigned on Thursday. The White House had called for his resignation earlier this week, Reuters reports.

In another development, former President Barack Obama – a Democrat – said senior Republicans were undermining democracy by accepting President Trump’s fraud allegations.

“This is one more step in delegitimizing not only the new Biden administration, but democracy in general, and it is a dangerous path,” he told CBS News ahead of the publication of his new thesis, A Promised Land.

A small but growing number of Republicans are backing calls for the president-elect to receive daily intelligence briefings.

Lindsey Graham, a key Trump ally, was among those who said Mr. Biden should get the secret presidential memo, as usual with incoming presidents.

Chuck Grassley, John Cornyn and John Thune agreed, although Minority House Leader Kevin McCarthy said Mr Biden was “not president at the moment” and would have to wait.

Between 10 and 20 Republicans in Congress have now either congratulated Mr. Biden or accepted that there must be moves towards a transition. But most have yet to recognize the president-elect’s victory.

The president tweeted on Thursday that voting software in use in 28 states had deleted millions of votes for him, but offered no evidence for the astonishing claim.

House Democrat Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the “absurd circus” meant the coronavirus pandemic was being overlooked, and she and other top Democrats urged Republicans to “accept the reality.”

Democratic Senator Chris Coons told CNN that some Republicans have asked him to congratulate Mr. Biden on their behalf because they did not feel able to do so publicly.

Senate Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said they “are deliberately questioning our elections for no other reason than fear of Donald Trump.”

Capitol Hill reporters say Republican lawmakers are anxious not to alienate the Trump base, given that the president just won more votes than any other incumbent, although he is expected to he will lose.

Party bigwigs are also said to be hoping Mr. Trump will help campaign for two Senate second-round elections in January in Georgia, which will decide whether Republicans retain control of the upper house.

Mr. Biden is 5.2 million votes ahead of Mr. Trump – around 3.4% – and has enough electoral college votes state-by-state to assume the presidency.

President Trump has kept a low profile public profile since the election. Reports suggest he told friends he wanted to start a digital media company to take on the conservative Fox News network, whose full support he now misses.

According to CBS News, Mr. Trump is also openly discussing a possible 2024 campaign to take over the presidency.

On Thursday, he met with Pope Francis, who offered Mr. Biden his “blessings and congratulations”. Mr. Biden will only be the second Roman Catholic president of the United States.

He also spoke with Democratic leaders in Congress about the need for a coronavirus stimulus program as the daily number of U.S. cases linked to the disease hit a new high of more than 150,000.

He spent the day snuggled up with his transition team in Wilmington, Delaware, where he had planned the cabinet appointments.

On Wednesday, he picked veteran Democrat Ron Klain as White House chief of staff.