GOP Senator: No ‘Evidence’ Of Mass Voter Fraud, Election Is ‘History’

FILE - In this Saturday, Sept. 27, 2008, file photo, Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., speaks after leaving a meeting of Senate Republicans in Washington. (AP Photo/Lauren Victoria Burke, File)
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PHILADELPHIA – The third-ranking member of the Senate GOP leader team said Wednesday that he did not see “evidence” of millions of fraudulent votes in November’s election, as President Trump has falsely claimed, but would cooperate in any investigation ordered into the matter.

“I haven’t seen evidence to that effect,” Sen. John Thune (R-SD) told reporters at the congressional GOP retreat in Philadelphia, when asked about Trump’s baseless allegations. “I believe that our election system is the cornerstone of our democracy. There are always reported, in most elections, irregularities. The scale of those, you know, I’m not what the answer of that is.”

President Trump has blamed, without basis, his loss of the popular vote in the presidential election on the millions of people voting illegally, bring up the claim again among congressional leaders this week, and on Twitter Wednesday morning, called for a “major investigation” into voter fraud.

“If the administration decides to pursue some sort of investigation on that, then we will certainly cooperate in any way that they ask for,” Thune said. “But all I can tell you is that we had an election, it was a decisive outcome, we have a new President, a new Congress and I view the election as history, and we’re ready to roll up our sleeves and go to work.”

In a follow-up question, Thune was asked whether he believed such an investigation was warranted.

“I have not see any evidence to that effect, but if they want to take that issue up, that’s a decision obviously that he can make,” Thune said.

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