Distinguished group of Republican judges, lawyers debunk ‘every claim’ of election fraud

A while back Thomas Griffith, a conservative former federal appeals court judge, called his friend Benjamin Ginsberg, an election attorney who has worked for decades for Republicans, to talk about the election fraud claims made by former President Donald Trump and others.

He told Ginsberg, "Let's look at this ourselves. Let's not rely on what The New York Times is telling us or other outlets are telling us. Let's look at this ourselves. Let's spend the time. Let's do a deep dive into each of the contested states.”

And they did.

Joining Griffith and Ginsberg in the effort were Republican former U.S. Senators John Danforth and Gordon H. Smith, former Republican congressional Chief of Staff David Hoppe, Solicitor General Ted Olson and former federal appeals court Judges Michael Luttig and Michael McConnell.

All accomplished. All untainted. All rock solid conservatives.

Reaching an 'uneqivocal' conclusion

They set forth to study “every claim of fraud and miscount put forward by former President Trump and his advocates, and now put the results of those investigations before the American people, and especially before fellow conservatives who may be uncertain about what and whom to believe.”

And what did they come up with?

They state: “Our conclusion is unequivocal: Joe Biden was the choice of a majority of the Electors, who themselves were the choice of the majority of voters in their states.”

The group studied 64 cases of Trump campaign fraud claims in six states, thoroughly examining each case, and found no significant or impactful instances of fraud.

They also said that the election fraud claims in the movie “2000 Mules” are not supported by "the evidence invoked in the film.”

Lies 'corrode' fundamental democracy

The report, called "Lost, Not Stolen: The Conservative Case that Trump Lost and Biden Won the 2020 Presidential Election," is there for anyone to read.

I’d double dare spreaders of the Big Lie like Arizona Republican Party Chair Kelli Ward, or Republicans like Andy Biggs, Kari Lake, Jim Lamon, Wendy Rogers and on and on, to attempt to factually dispute any of the report’s conclusions.

Even Fox News covered the report’s release.

Speaking about the destructive nature of election fraud lies Ginsberg says, "I think there is a lack of recognition that that goes both ways and that, should Republicans take over, you're opening the door for Democrats to say the same thing, and that corrodes the basic fundamental part of our democracy.”

The report does not deny that some election fraud exists. It has always existed.

Putting election fraud in perspective

It’s a matter of perspective, however. Of magnitude. And of facts.

The report compiled by this group of conservative Republican judges, lawyers, former U.S. senators and others deals in facts.

And here, in their words, is what they conclude:

“We do not claim that election administration is perfect. Election fraud is a real thing; there are prosecutions in almost every election year, and no doubt some election fraud goes undetected. Nor do we disparage attempts to reduce fraud. States should continue to do what they can do to eliminate opportunities for election fraud and to punish it when it occurs. But there is absolutely no evidence of fraud in the 2020 Presidential Election on the magnitude necessary to shift the result in any state, let alone the nation as a whole. In fact, there was no fraud that changed the outcome in even a single precinct. It is wrong, and bad for our country, for people to propagate baseless claims that President Biden’s election was not legitimate.”

Prove them wrong.

I double dare you.

Reach Montini at ed.montini@arizonarepublic.com.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Republican judges, lawyers debunk ‘every claim’ of election fraud