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| Donald Trump attacks 'scam' recount effort backed by Clinton campaign | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| President-elect Donald Trump has continued his criticism of Hillary Clinton’s decision to back the attempt by Green party candidate Jill Stein to force election recounts in three states. | President-elect Donald Trump has continued his criticism of Hillary Clinton’s decision to back the attempt by Green party candidate Jill Stein to force election recounts in three states. |
| Marc Elias, general counsel for the Clinton campaign, wrote in an online post on Saturday that the campaign would support Stein’s effort in Wisconsin, where a recount will now take place. Stein is also pushing for recounts in Pennsylvania and Michigan and has raised more than $6m in an online push to fund such efforts. | Marc Elias, general counsel for the Clinton campaign, wrote in an online post on Saturday that the campaign would support Stein’s effort in Wisconsin, where a recount will now take place. Stein is also pushing for recounts in Pennsylvania and Michigan and has raised more than $6m in an online push to fund such efforts. |
| The Clinton camp’s decision puts it at odds with the Obama White House, which has expressed confidence in election results. | The Clinton camp’s decision puts it at odds with the Obama White House, which has expressed confidence in election results. |
| On Saturday, Trump attacked Stein, using Twitter to say: “The Green Party scam to fill up their coffers by asking for impossible recounts is now being joined by the badly defeated [and] demoralized Dems.” | On Saturday, Trump attacked Stein, using Twitter to say: “The Green Party scam to fill up their coffers by asking for impossible recounts is now being joined by the badly defeated [and] demoralized Dems.” |
| He continued: “Democrats, when they incorrectly thought they were going to win, asked that the election night tabulation be accepted. Not so anymore!” | He continued: “Democrats, when they incorrectly thought they were going to win, asked that the election night tabulation be accepted. Not so anymore!” |
| On Sunday morning, the president-elect fired off a volley of tweets, starting: “Hillary Clinton conceded the election when she called me just prior to the victory speech and after the results were in. Nothing will change.” | |
| The president-elect then drew attention to a debate remark by Clinton after Trump refused to commit to accepting the results of the 8 November election, quoting her as saying: “That is horrifying. That is not the way our democracy works. Been around for 240 years. We’ve had free and fair elections. We’ve accepted the outcomes when we may not have liked them, and that is what must be expected of anyone standing on a during a general election. | The president-elect then drew attention to a debate remark by Clinton after Trump refused to commit to accepting the results of the 8 November election, quoting her as saying: “That is horrifying. That is not the way our democracy works. Been around for 240 years. We’ve had free and fair elections. We’ve accepted the outcomes when we may not have liked them, and that is what must be expected of anyone standing on a during a general election. |
| “I, for one, am appalled that somebody that is the nominee of one of our two major parties would take that kind of position.” | “I, for one, am appalled that somebody that is the nominee of one of our two major parties would take that kind of position.” |
| Trump is due back in New York later on Sunday after spending Thanksgiving at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, where one report said he had been asking visitors who should be his secretary of state. | Trump is due back in New York later on Sunday after spending Thanksgiving at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, where one report said he had been asking visitors who should be his secretary of state. |
| He appeared to have taken a break from making cabinet appointments, in order to enter the battle over the recount initiated by Stein. | He appeared to have taken a break from making cabinet appointments, in order to enter the battle over the recount initiated by Stein. |
| Stein’s recount effort, backed by a coalition of academics and activists, is based on fears that election machinery may have been hacked, possibly by foreign actors, although no evidence has yet been presented. | |
| Asked what the recount would do for her or for the Green party on CNN on Saturday, Stein said: “We want to know what our vote is, and that our votes are being counted. This is not a partisan effort but we need to have confidence, too.” | |
| On Sunday, Bernie Sanders supported the Green Party’s legal right to request a vote recount but told CNN: “I don’t think Hillary Clinton, who got two million more votes than Mr Trump, thinks that it’s going to transform the election.” | |
| In his post on Saturday, Elias wrote: “We certainly understand the heartbreak felt by so many who worked so hard to elect Hillary Clinton and it is a fundamental principle of our democracy to ensure that every vote is properly counted. | In his post on Saturday, Elias wrote: “We certainly understand the heartbreak felt by so many who worked so hard to elect Hillary Clinton and it is a fundamental principle of our democracy to ensure that every vote is properly counted. |
| “We do so fully aware that the number of votes separating Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton in the closest of these states ” – Michigan, where the Republican leads by 10,704 votes with the result expected to be certified on Monday – “well exceeds the largest margin ever overcome in a recount. | “We do so fully aware that the number of votes separating Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton in the closest of these states ” – Michigan, where the Republican leads by 10,704 votes with the result expected to be certified on Monday – “well exceeds the largest margin ever overcome in a recount. |
| “But regardless of the potential to change the outcome in any of the states, we feel it is important, on principle, to ensure our campaign is legally represented in any court proceedings and represented on the ground in order to monitor the recount process itself.” | “But regardless of the potential to change the outcome in any of the states, we feel it is important, on principle, to ensure our campaign is legally represented in any court proceedings and represented on the ground in order to monitor the recount process itself.” |
| The White House has distanced itself from the effort. Referring to attempts to influence the presidential election that have been officially blamed on Russia, it said in a statement the election results nonetheless “accurately reflect the will of the American people”. | The White House has distanced itself from the effort. Referring to attempts to influence the presidential election that have been officially blamed on Russia, it said in a statement the election results nonetheless “accurately reflect the will of the American people”. |
| Wisconsin’s election board was the first to agree to a statewide recount. The process, including an examination by hand of the nearly 3m ballots tabulated in the state, is expected to begin late next week and to be completed by 13 December. | Wisconsin’s election board was the first to agree to a statewide recount. The process, including an examination by hand of the nearly 3m ballots tabulated in the state, is expected to begin late next week and to be completed by 13 December. |
| Clinton beat Trump by more than 2 million votes nationwide, but Trump won in the electoral college. In Wisconsin, Trump beat Clinton by 27,257 votes. Stein received 30,980 votes and the Libertarian, Gary Johnson, received 106,442. | Clinton beat Trump by more than 2 million votes nationwide, but Trump won in the electoral college. In Wisconsin, Trump beat Clinton by 27,257 votes. Stein received 30,980 votes and the Libertarian, Gary Johnson, received 106,442. |