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Added on the 13/12/2020 14:51:12 - Copyright : Wochit
Special counsel Jack Smith announces that Donald Trump has been indicted over his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election -- the most serious legal threat yet to the former president as he campaigns to return to the White House. Trump is charged with four counts in the 45-page indictment brought by Smith, including conspiracy to defraud the United States. SOUNDBITE
Bobby Christine is the new US Attorney overseeing federal prosecutions in Atlanta, Georgia. In a call with staffers that he was pleasantly surprised to find there were no legitimate election fraud cases. President Donald Trump appointed Christine after pressuring his predecessor to resign over the lack of election fraud cases. Christine said he already dismissed the two highest-profile cases his department was looking at, which he said had no merit. Business Insider reports that Trump has sought to overturn the results of the election he lost, focusing his efforts on Georgia.
On Wednesday, Vice President Mike Pence wrote a letter to Congress. In the letter he does not have the "unilateral authority" to throw out states' electoral votes. The statement came minutes before Congress convened to officially certify President-elect Joe Biden's 2020 election victory. Pres. Trump has insisted that Pence has the power to "decertify" states' electoral votes and throw the election to him.
President Donald Trump continues to falsely insist he won the presidential election. His supporters are rallying behind him. They gathered in droves today in Washington, DC, to defend Trump's accusations of mass voter fraud. Business Insider reports that Trump's accusations have been disproven over 50 times. President-elect Joe Biden won the 2020 election, and will take office January 20. Trump's supporters at the march refused to acknowledge Biden's victory. They were also parroting the same baseless allegations the president has been making since the results came out in November.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected a request to overturn President-elect Joe Biden's victory in Pennsylvania. According to Business Insider, the request was put forth by a group of Republican state legislators, led by US Rep. Mike Kelly. They asked the court for an emergency order nullifying Biden's win, claiming the state legislature did not have the power to expand mail-in voting. It's yet another defeat among dozens of the Trump campaign's ongoing attempts to keep Trump in office for a second term. Battleground states Pennsylvania, Michigan, Georgia, Nevada, Arizona, and Wisconsin have all certified their results as of last week. Tuesday is also the "safe harbor" deadline by which all 50 states have to certify their results and resolve any legal disputes surrounding the results.
U.S. President Barack Obama attends an outdoor arrival ceremony in heavy rain, as the first sitting U.S. president to visit Laos. Rough Cut (no reporter narration).