January 5, 2021

This is just nonsense.

Wishing CNN would stop having extreme wingnut Republicans on as "newsworthy," like that's gonna happen.

Clay Higgins pretends that any words that contradict his Trumpian pipe dreams are "talking points" and returns to his pile of "affidavits" as proof that Donald Trump should be president again.

Clay! Earth to Clay! Nah, it doesn't work. Jim Sciutto, you tried, but you should not have had him on.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN: I want to ask you because in your statement saying you will object you're doing so because there is, quote, reasonable suspicion of election fraud. The Department of Justice investigated fraud claims and the Attorney General appointed by this president said, "To date we have not seen fraud on a scale that could have affected the outcome of the election." What evidence do you have that the Justice Department does not?

REP. CLAY HIGGINS, R-TX: Well, I have -- listen, we have a preponderance of evidence that election crimes may have been committed in six of the sovereign states.

SCIUTTO: Give me one example. Give me one example.

HIGGINS: In Georgia, change of statutory requirements for reviewing signatures. Pennsylvania eliminating signature requirements.

SCIUTTO: That's not true. The Georgia election official rejected that very -- he rejected it point by point yesterday. I'm asking what evidence you have to contradict the state Republican election officials there as you're claiming right now? What evidence do you have?

HIGGINS: Good sir, I say again, we have a preponderance of evidence that crimes may have been committed, election crimes. The threshold for investigation is reasonable suspicion.

SCIUTTO: Cite one example.

HIGGINS: I cited several. You're being rather combative. I believe you invited me on your show.

SCIUTTO: If someone makes a false claim on my show I will contradict it.

HIGGINS: I have in my office, I have in my office right now, hundreds and hundreds of pages citing evidence that crimes --

SCIUTTO: Give me one example.

HIGGINS: -- may have been committed.

SCIUTTO: Give me one example.

HIGGINS: I've already given you several. You're just repeating your talking points.

SCIUTTO: I'm not. You said it's a problem verifying signatures. That was contradicted yesterday in a press conference, in Georgia, by Mr. Sterling, for instance on verifying signatures. They, in fact, examined more than 15,000 mail-in ballot envelopes only found two with signature issues. So I contradicted that one, give me another example.

HIGGINS: That's another talking point. Let me clarify that investigations take time. The standard to launch an investigation is reasonable suspicion that a crime was committed. And then over the course of time, as evidence is harvested, presented, a chain of custody is maintained and it's reviewed through Article 3 by judicial procedure then you can have charges --

SCIUTTO: The fact is they were reviewed over weeks as you know in dozens of court cases. Let me quote from one. This comes from the Pennsylvania case. A Trump-appointed judge, by the way. Free and fair elections are the lifeblood of our democracy, charges of unfairness are serious but calling it unfair does not make it so. It requires specific allegations and proof, we have neither here. This was adjudicated by a Trump appointee and rejected.

HIGGINS: It should be investigated.

SCIUTTO: It's been investigated.

HIGGINS: You obviously know very little about investigations, good sir. Just last week, a terrorist from the Lockerbie bombing was charged internationally, that happened in 1988. Investigations can take a long time and the standard for whether or not an investigation should move forward is reasonable suspicion that crimes were committed. We have hundreds of affidavits from thousands of pages, we've reached thousands of affidavits.

SCIUTTO: You're trying to overturn the votes of millions of Americans.

And that's where Higgins ends, and facts begin. As I wrote yesterday, those arguing for a continuation of the Trump presidency do not mention actual voters in their arguments, because they would then lose. And that's proof they are attempting to kill Democracy.

And CNN helps their cause by pretending they are newsworthy spokespeople. Shame on CNN.

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