Hawley Refuses to Rule Out ‘Rigged’ Election: ‘We’ll See’
Senator Josh Hawley (R., Mo.) on Monday would not rule out the possibility that the 2020 election had been rigged, saying “we’ll see.”
“I mean we’ll see,” Hawley told CNN when asked if he thought the election was rigged. “We’ll see at the end when all of the legal challenges are resolved and see when all the evidence has been produced.”
Asked if Republican Senators should speak up against the president’s claims of widespread election fraud that overturned the results, Hawley said: “Well I mean I think that, if your question is should we be criticizing him, then I think what you’re getting at in my view is that the President has every right to present his case in every court that he wants to go to and has every right to be heard. And I think we are going to have to look at the effect of mail-in balloting.”
Trump has refused to concede to President-elect Joe Biden, who won the electoral college with 306 votes to Trump’s 232, according to projections by the Associated Press. Though six battleground states have certified their election results in favor of Biden, Trump has continued to make claims that the election was rigged against him and plagued by widespread voter fraud — claims widely contested by election officials from both parties. His legal team has pursued a number of lawsuits in swing states that have largely fizzled out.
Senator Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) said Trump told him in a phone call this weekend that he would continue to contest election results even as his legal efforts have failed thus far.
“He’s gonna fight for every vote and push systems to get better, and I said, ‘Keep it up,'” Graham told CNN on Monday evening. “I think he’s focused on the challenges he has and trying to, you know, deal with mail-in voting and I’m very worried about it too myself quite frankly.”
Other Republican Senators have been more critical of the president’s actions.
Senator Mitt Romney of Utah told CNN he believes “making serious accusations of fraud and an election theft without seriously presenting evidence of substantial fraud is irresponsible and dangerous.”
Texas Senator John Cornyn said Monday that the “verdict was rendered, and I think that’s becoming clearer by the minute” and that he’s “already moving on” to get ready for the incoming Biden administration.
