On CNN Tuesday, analyst John Avlon listed off the Republican Party's failed efforts to find evidence for former President Donald Trump's "big lie" that the 2020 election was stolen from him.
"We have been living with the most sustained attack since the Civil War. Democracy itself is under assault," said Avlon. "That's the subject of a major speech about voting rights from President Biden later today. The big lie keeps getting repeated. That's why I want to recap the results of all the hunts to find actual voter fraud to date. Think about it as a definitive guide to debunking the big lie."
"First, remember Trump's legal team lost nearly 60 cases in court, many at the hands of Trump-appointed judges. That's a blowout, folks," said Avlon. "In the six months since the Capitol attack, there have been extensive efforts by Republicans in at least eight states to back up Trump's baseless claims. And they have come up with nothing, nada, ninguno."
"Take Michigan. State senators convened a special committee and after 28 hours of hearings, they found the only real fraud had been the claims of mass voter fraud. In fact, they recommended that the Democratic AG investigate those folks who had been pushing the election lies," said Avlon. "In Wisconsin, when Trump demanded a recount, it resulted in a gain of 87 votes for Joe Biden, and only 13 possible cases of voter fraud. In New Hampshire, auditors found no widespread fraud. Same in Nevada, after an investigation by the Republican secretary of state. In Georgia, Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger was censured after he resisted demands from Trump to find 11,000 votes. An audit confirmed the election results."
"In Texas, indicted Republican AG Ken Paxton had a special team, spent 22,000 hours searching for voter fraud, and after all that time and taxpayer money, they found 16 minor cases out of 11 million ballots cast," continued Avlon. "That $1 million reward from Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, which he offered for evidence of voter fraud, still hasn't been paid out despite Pennsylvania's lieutenant governor pushing for payment in exchange for his state's three documented cases of voter fraud, which were all from Republicans. That hasn't stopped some Keystone State Republicans from trying to keep false claims alive even after the audits showed the results were accurate. They're one of five states trying to follow the Arizona "fraudit" being announced by local Republicans as a grift disguised as an audit and insane lies."
"Look at the results of these audits and recounts and Republican-led investigations in eight states. and you'll see there is just no actual evidence of mass voter fraud. There is only the desperate attempt to keep doubt alive, to please Donald Trump at the expense of our democracy," said Avlon. "Remember how fast Fox News and Newsmax backtracked when threatened with lawsuits. Bill Barr thought Trump's claims were 'bullsh*t'. And look at the top lawyer describing trump's legal team as a 'joke' that was getting them, quote, 'laughed out of court' because of wishful thinking. If you believe their claims, I'm sorry to say the joke's on you. Of course, the real insult is to our democracy. That's a cause real patriots should rush to defend."
Watch below:
John Avlon highlights failed GOP efforts to prove elections were stolen from them www.youtube.com
