Bolton: Time is running out for Republican Party's credibility

 http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/291304

 John Bolton, former National Security Adviser to US President Donald Trump, on Sunday warned members of the Republican Party that time is running out for them maintain the party’s credibility in the wake of President Donald Trump’s challenges of the results of the presidential election.

In an op-ed for The Washington Post, Bolton wrote, “As of this writing, the Republican Party has not suffered permanent damage to its integrity and reputation because of President Trump’s post-election rampaging. This will not be true much longer.”

He pointed out that so far, Trump has failed to produce valid legal arguments and persuasive evidence for his claims of election fraud and added, “If he can’t, his ‘right’ to contest the election is beside the point. The real issue is the grievous harm he is causing to public trust in America’s constitutional system. Trump’s time is running out, even as his rhetoric continues escalating…Here is the cold political reality: Trump is enhancing his own brand (in his mind) while harming the Republican brand. The party needs a long internal conversation about the post-Trump era, but first it needs to get there honorably.”

 

Trump criticizes John Bolton for pushing election loss as legal fight continues

 https://www.foxnews.com/politics/live-updates-trump-criticizes-john-bolton-for-pushing-election-loss

 President Trump lashed out at John Bolton on Sunday, calling him "one of the dumbest people in government" after the former national security adviser urged GOP Party leaders to accept the 2020 election results and encourage their supporters to acknowledge defeat.

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Trump says Biden ‘won’ because vote was ‘rigged,’ then says he’s not conceding

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/in-tweet-trump-finally-says-biden-won-but-only-because-election-was-rigged/

US President Donald Trump Sunday finally appeared to acknowledge his loss to Joe Biden in the presidential elections, but quickly followed up by saying he conceded “nothing” and again claimed without evidence that voting was “rigged” in favor of his Democratic rival.

“He won because the Election was Rigged,” Trump said in a tweet

As Donald Trump Refuses to Concede, America Is Caught Between Crisis and Confusion

 https://time.com/5910875/trump-concede-biden/

 Under normal circumstances, few Americans would know Emily Murphy’s name. The head of the General Services Administration (GSA) is the ultimate Washington bureaucrat, responsible for signing the leases and procuring the supplies that keep the Executive Branch running. “I am not here to garner headlines or make a name for myself,” she testified in 2017. “My goal is to do my part in making the federal government more efficient, effective and responsive to the American people.” The Senate unanimously confirmed her to her post, which she has held ever since.

But in the days after Joe Biden was determined to have won the presidential election, Murphy found herself at the center of the most tumultuous transfer of power in decades. Media outlets from the Associated Press to Fox News called Biden the winner on Nov. 7, assessing that despite the usual isolated irregularities and a smattering of lawsuits, it was mathematically impossible for Donald Trump to overcome his vote deficit in enough states to change the Electoral College result. But Trump has refused to concede, and has conjured fantasies of widespread fraud for which he has provided no proof. Taking their cues, nearly all Republican officials have refused to recognize Biden’s victory until Trump’s challenges are exhausted. And Murphy has so far declined to issue the letter, known as an “ascertainment,” that would formally allow the presidential transition to begin.

 

 

Russia Probe Ordered by Barr Won’t Release Findings Before Election

 https://www.wsj.com/articles/durhams-russia-probe-wont-release-findings-before-the-election-11602272001

 Attorney General William Barr has told top Republicans that the results of a wide-ranging inquiry into the origins of the FBI’s 2016 Russia investigation won’t be made public before the election, according to people familiar with the matter.

 

"The Inspector General’s report now makes clear that the FBI launched an intrusive investigation of a U.S. presidential campaign on the thinnest of suspicions."

 https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2019/dec/11/william-barr/barr-disputes-inspector-generals-report/

 Our ruling

Barr said, "The Inspector General’s report now makes clear that the FBI launched an intrusive investigation of a U.S. presidential campaign on the thinnest of suspicions."

The report found that the decision to start the Russia investigation was justified. But the FBI did secure a FISA warrant to surveil Page, a technique that is permitted but considered intrusive.

We rate Barr’s statement Mostly False.

Arrests in Washington as Trump supporters clash with counterdemonstrators

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/arrests-in-washington-as-trump-supporters-clash-with-counterdemonstrators/

 Fervent supporters of US President Donald Trump rallied in Washington on Saturday behind his spurious claim of a stolen election and swarmed his motorcade in adulation when he detoured for a drive-by on his way out of town.

 They chanted “USA, USA” and “four more years,” and many carried American flags and signs to show their displeasure with the vote tally. After making the short detour for the slow drive around the site, the motorcade headed to the president’s Virginia golf club. 

The march was largely peaceful during the day before turning tense at night, with multiple confrontations as small groups of Trump supporters attempted to enter the area around Black Lives Matter Plaza, about a block from the White House, where several hundred anti-Trump demonstrators had gathered.

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