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A2 UP FRONT
Saturday 7 November 2020
Trump's wild claims test limits of Republican loyalty

Continued from Front counts in several states. ers did not want him to ad-
On Fox News the night be- dress the nation Thursday
Indeed, the most aggres- fore, Graham said he was night when he made his
sive Republican criticism transferring $500,000 from most outrageous claims.
was limited to the small and his campaign account to Wisconsin Sen. Ron John-
familiar group of frequent Trump's legal fund, and son, a staunch Trump ally,
Trump critics such as Utah called for others to make highlighted the obvious
Sen. Mitt Romney and Ne- donations as well. downside of Trump's ques-
braska Sen. Ben Sasse, who Ari Fleischer, a former aide tions about the integrity of
will not face Republican to President George W. the voting process.
voters again for at least Bush, said Trump was simply "It's very unfortunate that no
four years. But a handful saying out loud about the matter who wins, the other
of more regular Trump de- voting system what most half of America is not going
fenders raised the embat- losing candidates say pri- to view this as a particularly
tled president's ire by failing vately. legitimate election," John-
to rush to his defense. Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan warns of a surge in coronavirus "I wish people talked with son said on WTMJ-AM, a
Some Trump allies viewed cases, during a news conference Thursday, Nov. 5, 2020, in less bombast. But I'm not local radio station. "I'm not
former United Nations am- Annapolis, Md. going to fault the president saying it's legitimate or not.
bassador Nikki Haley's initial Associated Press for it," Fleischer said. I'm saying this process has
response as a political obit- Blunt, was not afraid to needed to take the White "Be gentle about Trump's been set up where people
uary of sorts for the presi- call out Trump's inconsist- House. behavior," he urged. "When are not going to view it as
dent. She thanked Trump ent calls to stop counting With things trending in the I watched it last night and legitimate. And that's a real
on Twitter for helping to de- ballots in states where he's wrong direction for him, watched these heads ex- problem."
liver "conservative victories" ahead and keep counting Trump continued to spread plode I just rolled my eyes. Trump spent most of Friday
up and down the ballot in states where he's behind. baseless rumors of voting ... We've always been a behind closed doors at the
and predicted that "truth "You can't stop the count in fraud throughout the day, noisy democracy." White House, angry about
will prevail." one state and decide you calling on the Supreme Yet history suggests that the direction of the race
It was a similarly muted want the count to continue Court to intervene even Trump's rhetoric and ac- and insisting that his aides
defense from Missouri Sen. in another state," Blunt told as his campaign struggled tions go well beyond the and allies push back. There
Josh Hawley, another reporters. "That might be to produce significant evi- normal trappings of de- was no indication he would
Trump ally in the 2024 con- how you'd like to see the dence of malfeasance. mocracy. Never before has concede, no matter what
versation. He avoided em- system work but that's not Still, there was no shortage a sitting president so ag- the final vote tally showed.
bracing some of Trump's how the system works." of Republican leaders will- gressively undermined the Hogan, the Maryland gov-
most outlandish claims but As votes were tallied across ing to back him up — espe- integrity of a U.S. election. ernor, acknowledged that
vowed to introduce legisla- the country Friday after- cially after Donald Trump His strategy was entirely Trump would have "an im-
tion to address some of the noon, Biden was on the Jr. called out their silence predictable. With polls portant voice with the base
president's concerns about cusp of winning the presi- on social media. showing him lagging, of the Republican Party"
transparency during an ap- dency as he opened up South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Trump raised questions moving forward regardless
pearance on Fox News. narrow leads in the critical Graham told reporters Fri- about the integrity of the of the 2020 election's out-
A spokesman declined to battlegrounds of Georgia day that he was "not con- voting system for much of come.
make Hawley available and Pennsylvania. The shifts ceding" Biden's tightening the year. Yet his words from "I'm sure he's going to be
to answer follow-up ques- put Biden in a stronger po- grasp on the presidency the White House this week a factor to contend with,"
tions. But Missouri's other sition to capture the 270 and fully supported Trump's were no less shocking. Hogan said. "I don't antici-
Republican senator, Roy Electoral College votes efforts to challenge ballot Even internally, some advis- pate him going quietly."q

Bannon lawyer quits fraud case after inflamatory remarks

NEW YORK (AP) — A law- headed for being disloyal dants of misappropriating
yer for President Donald to the president. The re- money from the group,
Trump's former chief strat- marks prompted Twitter which raised $25 million
egist, Steve Bannon, quit to permanently suspend from thousands of donors
defending him in a fed- Bannon's account. who thought their cash
eral fraud case a day af- "I'd put the heads on pikes" would be used to build the
ter Bannon made inflam- as a warning to federal wall.
matory comments about bureaucrats, Bannon said Prosecutors declined com-
Dr. Anthony Fauci and FBI on video. "You either get ment on Friday. There was
Director Christopher Wray. with the program or you no new lawyer for Ban-
In a letter dated Friday, are gone." non named in the court
defense attorney William Bannon, 66, is facing record.q
Burck told a federal court charges he ripped off
judge in New York City that Trump supporters as an or-
he was withdrawing from ganizer of a group called
the case. He did not give "We Build The Wall" that
a reason why. Reached portrayed itself as eager
by email, Burck declined to help the president build
to discuss the decision. a barrier along the U.S.-
In this April 12, 2019, file photo, attorney William Burck speaks The lawyer quit after Ban- Mexico border. He has
before Judge Leonard Hanser during a hearing in New England
Patriots owner Robert Kraft's prostitution solicitation case, in non suggested on an on- pleaded not guilty.
West Palm Beach, Fla. line broadcast that Fauci Prosecutors have accused
Associated Press and Wray should be be- Bannon and co-defen-