by Sharon Rondeau
(Dec. 16, 2020) — “The fraud happened; the election, in many ways, was stolen,” said Sen. Rand Paul as he was speaking during a Senate Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Committee’s hearing on Wednesday morning.
At the time (approximately 11:28 a.m. ET), Paul was questioning witness Judge Kenneth Starr about reported issues and claims of violation of law during the November 3, 2020 election.
In his comments, Paul said he believes election law made by the Pennsylvania legislature forbade changes made by administrative election personnel to provide for the widespread casting of mail-in ballots against the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic.
Following Paul was Sen. Thomas Carper (D-DE), whose comments centered on President Trump’s legal team’s loss of scores of election challenges and his contention that Democrats Joe Biden and Kamala Harris won with an overwhelming number of votes. Carper decried reported threats against election personnel and electors who cast their votes at the Electoral College on Monday.
The U.S. needs to “turn the page,” he said, following what he said were the results of the election. He said Trump supporters continue to “spread disinformation” about the election.
“The truth will keep us free,” Carper said. “It always has, and it always will.”
Sen. James Lankford (R-OK, pictured above), who chaired the hearing temporarily, voiced concerns that mailing universal absentee ballots to all registered voters, as what was done in Nevada, could lead to fraud. In his state of Oklahama, Lankford said, the legislature enacted a law to accommodate mail-in ballots given the presence of COVID-19.
Along with Lankford, Starr criticized the administrative altering of laws in Pennsylvania concerning mail-in ballots.
Another witness, former CISA Director Chris Krebs, was fired by President Trump after issuing a statement, along with statements on Twitter, that the November 3 election was “the most secure election in American history.”
“We have to move on,” Krebs told Sen. Maggie Hasan (D-NH), stating that he is a Republican and opining that division over the election outcome is “not American.”
According to Trump campaign attorney and witness Jesse Binnall, Nevada’s election contained tens of thousands of illegal votes, including from individuals who had moved out of state. Later, Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) refuted that claim.
Trump has not conceded to Biden and on Twitter, continues to suggest that revelations will be forthcoming as to the role Dominion voting machines played in the reported election outcome.
A report from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) is reportedly to be provided to the president on Friday, which is the 45th day outlined in an executive order Trump signed on September 12, 2018 regarding “Imposing Certain Sanctions in the Event of Foreign Interference in a United States Election.”