Elections

Rand Paul: ‘The fraud happened. The election in many ways was stolen’

Published

3 years ago

December 16, 2020

Screen Shot 2020 12 16 at 12.25.02 PM scaled

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) at Wednesday’s U.S. Senate hearing examining irregularities during 2020 presidential election claimed that “fraud happened” and that the election “in many ways was stolen.”

This Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing comes after the Electoral College on Monday voted, making President-elect Joe Biden‘s victory official, and after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and many other top Senate Republicans congratulated the president-elect following Monday’s vote. President Donald Trump refuses to concede the election and continues to claim that the election was stolen from him.

The hearing’s top witness was Chris Krebs, who served as Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and oversaw the United States’ election security for the 2020 presidential election. President Trump controversially fired Krebs because he disagreed with the president on the prevalence of election fraud, even having created a CISA website for the purpose of debunking election disinformation.

“The fraud happened. The election in many ways was stolen,” the Kentucky Republican claimed. “And the only way it’ll be fixed is by, in the future, reinforcing the laws.”

Rand Paul: “The fraud happened. The election in many ways was stolen.” pic.twitter.com/LyUPp1Oebp
— Jack Posobiec ✝️ (@JackPosobiec) December 16, 2020

“But I think [Kreb’s] job was keeping the foreigners out of the election. It was the most secure election based on the security of the internet and technology, but he has never voiced an opinion […] on whether or not dead people voted—I don’t think he examined that,” Paul said toward the end of his speaking time, then questioning if Krebs examined non-citizens’ voting.

Many Republicans, in alleging that widespread election fraud occurred in the 2020 election, have often cited claims that a lot of dead people and non-citizens voted. The over 50 lawsuits challenging the results of the election in certain swing states alleging election fraud have overwhelmingly failed in the courts.

“So to say it was the safest election—sure, I agree with your statement if you’re referring to foreign intervention,” Paul continued. “But if you’re saying it’s the safest election based on no dead people voted, no non-citizens voted, no people broke the absentee [ballot] rules, I think that’s false and I think that’s what’s upset a lot of people on our side is that they’re taking your statement to mean ‘Oh, there were no problems in the elections.'”

“I don’t think you examined any of the problems that we’ve heard here,” he added, “so really you’re just referring to something differently, the way I look at it.”

You can follow Douglas Braff on Twitter @Douglas_P_Braff.

Elections

Videotapes from Jan. 6 Committee Witness Interviews Vanish

Published

1 day ago

December 4, 2023

Sara Carter Staff

Screen Shot 2021 01 06 at 10.13.23 AM scaled

Videotapes containing witness interviews conducted by the Democrat-led January 6 congressional committee have disappeared. The chairman of the House Administration oversight subcommittee, Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.), expressed his apprehension on the “Just the News, No Noise” television show.

According to Loudermilk, all videotapes of depositions have vanished, raising questions about the preservation of crucial evidence. He argued that, under House rules, these tapes qualified as congressional evidence, especially since some clips were aired during hearings. Loudermilk contended that the tapes should have been preserved by the now-defunct Jan. 6 committee and its chairman, Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.).

Loudermilk’s revelation has broader implications, potentially impacting criminal trials in both state court in Georgia and federal court in Washington, where individuals, including former President Donald Trump, face charges related to the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021. Notably, Trump’s legal team had recently requested evidence from the Jan. 6 committee but was denied by a judge.

The situation takes a further twist as Loudermilk disclosed that the J6 committee had sent certain evidence, such as transcripts, to the Biden White House and the Homeland Security Department. Shockingly, these transcripts have now been returned to Loudermilk’s GOP-led subcommittee almost entirely redacted, preventing the disclosure of their contents.

The lack of records regarding witnesses, their statements, and the extensive redactions have raised concerns among House Republicans. Loudermilk emphasized that these documents belong to the House and should not have been sent in such a heavily redacted form. The chairman questioned the motives behind the redactions, asking why a Democrat-run House was allowed to have unredacted documents while a Republican committee’s efforts were obstructed. This development adds another layer of complexity to the ongoing investigations into the events surrounding January 6, 2021.