Networks call Georgia for Biden as security officials say vote was ‘secure’
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As Donald Trump continues to refuse conceding the 2020 presidential race to Joe Biden, the president-elect was said to have spoken with Senate Republicans who have begun to admit he should at least receive intelligence briefings that have so far been denied.
On Friday afternoon most networks called Georgia for Mr Biden and North Carolina for Mr Trump bringing their respective electoral college vote totals to 306 to 232.
US federal and state cybersecurity officials, meanwhile, have delivered a direct rebuke to Donald Trump, who continues to allege irregularities and widespread fraud without evidence.
Chris Krebs, director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, said the 3 November vote was “the most secure in history" in a report published Thursday, and added that Americans should trust the result. His agency had not find any evidence of ballots being lost, deleted or altered, he said.
Lindsey Graham joins growing chorus saying Biden should have access to classified briefings
The South Carolina has joined Republicans Charles Grassley and James Lankford to call for the White House to give Joe Biden access to classified intelligence briefings.
“Yeah, I think he should,” Graham told CNN on Thursday.
A key Trump ally, Graham said he hasn’t spoked directly to the White House but said that he “hopes” they will provide access to the briefings soon.
He was also joined by Rob Portman of Ohio in another indication that the GOP a large is making peace with the outcome of the presidential election.
The president, meanwhile, has not.
More than 150 ex-security officials say Trump’s delay in recognising Biden a ‘serious risk to national security’
The letter comes from a group of 161 former defence officials, including Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel; former CIA and NSA Director Gen. Michael Hayden; retired Gen. Wesley Clark; former Deputy NSA Director Chris Inglis; and former U.N. Ambassador Samantha Power.
They called on the General Services Administration to officially name Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as the apparent president and vice-president elect so they can access information “needed to address pressing national security issues, such as the President’s Daily Briefing and pending decisions on possible uses of military force”, according to the letter obtained by Politico.
The General Services Administration needs to formally recognize Biden before he can receive official briefings.
The letter continued:
“In this moment of uncertainty, we must put politics aside. Further delaying the Biden team’s ability to access the President’s Daily Briefing and other national security information and resources compromises the continuity and readiness of our national leadership, with immense national security stakes hanging in the balance.”
Analyzing Trump's victory speech four years on
In the light of president-elect Joe Biden's widely praised victory speech on Saturday night, how does Donald Trump's compare from 2016?
Host of The Independent's Behind The Headlines podcast Lucie McInerney and Washington DC Bureau Chief John T Bennett take a look back over the then president-elect's words.
From congratulating Hillary Clinton on her campaign to promising to be a president for all Americans, what he said is barely recognizable four years on.
You can listen here, or wherever you get your podcasts
Trump makes evidence-free claim that millions of votes for him were deleted
Donald Trump continues to make baseless claims that widespread voter fraud led to his defeat by Joe Biden in last week’s election.
In an all-caps tweet on Thursday morning, the president claims that Dominion Voting Systems, the software provider that local governments around the country use to run elections, “DELETED 2.7 MILLION TRUMP VOTES NATIONWIDE”.
The tweet was flagged by Twitter as making a claim about election fraud that is disputed.
Appearing to cite One America News Network and its White House correspondent Chanel Rion as his source, Mr Trump added that states using Dominion’s software switched 435,000 votes from Trump to Biden.
The Independent’s Oliver O’Connell reports.
Trump makes evidence-free claim that millions of votes for him were deleted
Other claims regarding Dominion Voting Systems’ software have already been refuted
Minority leader Kevin McCarthy ‘guarantees’ GOP will win control of the House in 2022
After defying the polls to pick up seats in the House or Representatives this election cycle, minority leader Kevin McCarthy is vowing to take to majority during the mid-terms in two years.
In an interview with The Washington Post, McCarthy cited a coalition of women and minority candidates as the driving force behind their gains
“We have never been stronger in the sense of what the future holds for us — we have never been in a stronger position,” McCarthy told the Post. “We won this by adding more people to the party. And we won this in an atmosphere where we were the one group that everyone guaranteed we would lose. And we’re the ones who won.”
Despite the losses in the House, along with a poor performance in the Senate, speaker Nancy Pelosi says Democrats were given a “mandate” while the first signs of an internal civil war between moderates and progressives began to show.
Watch: ‘If all else fails, he’ll burn down the house’
“It’s a matter of wrestling this loss, as it were, from the victory of Biden, and he’ll do anything,” said former Trump Organisation executive Barbara Res. “And if all else fails, he will burn down the house."
Speaking to MSNBC’s Ari Melber on Thursday, Ms Res, who previously served as the vice president of construction at the Trump Organisation, claimed he will “do anything” to stay in office.
“The notion of being a loser is something that he couldn’t possibly conceive or believe, so I don’t think he believes that he’s a loser quite yet,” Ms Res added.
The Independent’s James Crump has more.
Former Trump exec warns: ‘If all else fails, he’ll burn down the house’
‘The notion of being a loser is something that he couldn’t possibly conceive’
Biden on climate crisis: 10 executive actions president-elect is taking on first day
President-elect Joe Biden has promised to hit the ground running when he enters the White House in January — and executive actions to tackle the climate crisis are day-one priorities, according to reports.
The 10 executive actions are:
- Require limits on methane pollution for oil and gas operations
- Use the federal government procurement system to work towards 100% clean energy and zero-emissions vehicles
- Ensure US government buildings and facilities are more efficient and climate-ready
- Implement the already-existing Clean Air Act, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transportation by developing new fuel economy standards to ensure all new sales for light- and medium-duty vehicles will be electrified, and annual improvements for heavy duty vehicles
- Double down on liquid fuels like advanced biofuels and make agriculture a key part of the solution to the climate crisis
- Reduce emissions and cut consumer costs through new standards for appliance and building efficiency
- Require federal permit decisions to consider effects of greenhouse gas emissions and climate change, and ensure every federal infrastructure investment reduces climate pollution
- Require public companies to disclose climate risks and greenhouse gas emissions in their operations and supply chains
- Protect biodiversity, slow extinction rates and conserve 30 per cent of America's lands and waters by 2030
- Permanently protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, establish national parks and monuments, ban new oil and gas permits on public lands and waters, modify royalties to account for climate costs and creating programs to enhance reforestation and develop renewable energy on federal lands and waters to double offshore wind by 2030
The Independent’s Louise Boyle has the story.
10 executive actions Biden is taking on his first day to tackle the climate crisis
Mr Biden ran his campaign on a promise to make the climate crisis a top priority of his administration
‘Dignity and equality’: Biden speaks to Pope Francis as Trump continues to claim election victory
The Independent’s Washington Bureau chief John T Bennett has more on Joe Biden speaking earlier today with Pope Francis.
Biden speaks to Pope Francis as Trump continues to claim election victory
President-elect Joe Biden spoke with Pope Francis as he continued plans to take over the role of diplomat-in-chief even as Donald Trump dug in on challenging the election’s outcome.
GOP using ‘shadow candidates’ in crucial Florida districts
Three candidates for Florida Senate district races were “shill candidates” whose presence was intended to siphon votes from those running for the Democratic Party, a report claims.
Local 10 News in Miami says that the three candidates, who list no party affiliation, have similarities and connections suggesting that they are all linked by funding from the same dark money sources.
The implication is that the candidates ran with no intention other than to upset voting patterns, as they did not campaign or fundraise.
In the District 37 race, a recount is underway as there were only 31 votes separating Republican candidate Ileana Garcia and Democratic candidate Jose Javier Rodriguez.
The Independent’s Oliver O’Connell reports.
GOP using ‘shadow candidates’ in crucial Florida districts, report claims
Dark money funded campaigns to draw votes away from Democrats running for state Senate
A few cracks but no big GOP break with Trump
The most powerful Republicans in Washington stood firmly behind President Donald Trump and his unsupported claims of voter fraud on Thursday, but new cracks emerged among GOP leaders elsewhere who believe it’s time for the administration to treat Democrat Joe Biden like the president-elect he is.
New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu, who endorsed Trump’s reelection, became the latest Republican official to say what Trump and his allies refuse to accept. The GOP governor acknowledged that Biden’s lead is getting “bigger and bigger by the day” and Trump’s legal options are dissipating.
“Joe Biden is the president-elect, and I think like most Americans, we suspect he’ll be taking the oath of office in January,” Sununu told reporters, insisting there was no legal fraud in his state, which Biden easily carried.
That’s a departure from the overwhelming majority of Republican officials who still refuse to publicly accept Biden’s victory. The resistance is complicating Biden’s effort to lead a smooth transition to the January inauguration, keeping him from the funding and agency resources typically afforded to an incoming administration. - AP
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