WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump released a trove of documents during a primetime address to the nation that allies had hyped as a smoking gun that would prove his long-debunked allegations of mass voter fraud.
Speaking from the White House on Thursday night, he described shocking revelations, like Chinese meddling to undermine his failed candidacy in 2020 and a cover-up by the "deep state." He claimed, "Americans were blatantly lied to about the security of our election infrastructure."
But a review by The ******* ociated Press found no such confirmation in the collection of newly declassified reports, investigation files, intelligence ******* ysis and ******* orted correspondence. Many pages are so heavily redacted that their findings are unclear. Others outline vulnerabilities and ******* sments that have been well-documented for years. There's no evidence that China or any other foreign entity manipulated the vote in 2020 or any other year.
"The White House promised a bombshell, and they delivered a dud," said David Becker, executive director of the Center for Election Innovation & Research, who attended a White House briefing on the material ahead of the speech. Despite what appeared to be a concerted effort by administration officials, "there was absolutely nothing here that was news, nothing here that even calls into question past elections and certainly not the 2020 election."
Here's a look at what the documents say.
Speaking from the White House on Thursday night, he described shocking revelations, like Chinese meddling to undermine his failed candidacy in 2020 and a cover-up by the "deep state." He claimed, "Americans were blatantly lied to about the security of our election infrastructure."
But a review by The ******* ociated Press found no such confirmation in the collection of newly declassified reports, investigation files, intelligence ******* ysis and ******* orted correspondence. Many pages are so heavily redacted that their findings are unclear. Others outline vulnerabilities and ******* sments that have been well-documented for years. There's no evidence that China or any other foreign entity manipulated the vote in 2020 or any other year.
"The White House promised a bombshell, and they delivered a dud," said David Becker, executive director of the Center for Election Innovation & Research, who attended a White House briefing on the material ahead of the speech. Despite what appeared to be a concerted effort by administration officials, "there was absolutely nothing here that was news, nothing here that even calls into question past elections and certainly not the 2020 election."
Here's a look at what the documents say.
2 months ago
