Rep. Elise Stefanik (RN.Y.), chair of the House Republican Conference, declined Sunday to commit to certifying the 2024 election results.
During a studio appearance on NBC's “Meet the Press,” host Kristen Welker asked Stefanik if she would vote to certify the 2024 results “regardless of the outcome.”
“Well, I voted not to certify Pennsylvania because, as we have seen in Pennsylvania and other states across the country, there is an unconstitutional practice of bypassing state legislatures and unilaterally changing election laws. Because there was,” Stefanik said, referring to his own response to the question. 2020 Election.
“What's going to happen in 2024?” Welker pressed.
“We'll see if this is a legitimate and valid election,” Stefanik said, referring to efforts in Colorado and Maine to keep Trump from voting in 2024 over the Jan. 6 riot. I responded. “What we're seeing so far is that Democrats are trying very desperately to remove President Trump from the ballot. This is an oppression of the American people. And the Supreme Court decided in February We're going to take up this case. We should do that.''It has to be 9-0 to allow President Trump to be on the ballot, and that's the decision the American people will make this November.''
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Representative Elise Stefanik, chair of the Republican conference, predicted that President Biden would prove to be the “most corrupt president” in American history. (Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Mr. Welker interjected: “To be clear, I haven't heard you promise to certify the election results. You promised to certify the results only if former President Trump won.'' Is that so?” he said.
“No. It's about whether it's constitutional,” Stefanik said. “What we saw in 2020 was an unconstitutional practice of circumventing the Constitution by bypassing state legislatures to change election laws. Kristen, we saw this in my home state of New York. We're seeing Democrats trying to steal election laws. “The gerrymandering of elections and illegal congressional districts is something we won fairly and is a fair course. Similar to the unconstitutional overreach we've seen at the level, we're also seeing this at the very local level.”
In an attempt to change the subject, Mr. Welker said that Mr. Trump's legal team had taken election concerns to court more than 60 times and lost, and that the two independent firms hired to investigate allegations of election fraud had “not done enough.” The federal agency that oversees election security was responsible. , CISA said, “The 2020 election was the most secure in U.S. history.”
As the NBC host tried to change the subject, Stefanik added, “Let me make a final point.”
“I think this is important because the American people understand that it was not a fair election,” Stefanik said. “We were going overboard in ways that violated the Constitution. That's why I opposed certain states on their constitutional responsibilities. As a member of Congress, I will always defend the Constitution and ensure strong integrity in our elections.” And the real threat to democracy is Joe Biden and the Democrats who are trying to remove President Trump from the vote because they know Joe Biden can't win at the ballot box. ”
Stefanik also pushed back on Welker's assertion that there was “no coordination” with Joe Biden or the Justice Department regarding charges against Trump.
“We just saw Hunter Biden ignore a Congressional subpoena and admit that morning that the White House was working with Joe Biden. That's coordination. And I think Joe “I believe Biden will prove to be the most corrupt president in our country's history,” she said.
Former President Donald Trump speaks at the “Commit to the Caucuses” rally in Clinton, Iowa, on January 6, 2024. (Tannen Morley/AFP via Getty Images)
Welker previously pressed Stefanik: “Do you still think that was a tragic day? Do you think the people who stormed the Capitol should be held fully accountable?”
“There are concerns about the treatment of the hostages on January 6th. There are concerns. We have a role in Congress to monitor the treatment of prisoners of war,” Stefanik said. “And I believe we're seeing the weaponization of the federal government not just against President Trump, but against conservatives as well. It's happening against Catholics as well. We're being watched. That's one of the reasons I'm so proud.''The American people want answers, they want transparency, and we understand that, which is why the Special Committee on the Weaponization of Government I decided to serve as a member of the committee. ”
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“If you look around this country, there seem to be two rules: If your last name is Clinton, or if your last name is Biden, you have to live by a different set of rules than if you're an everyday patriotic American. “No,” she said. she said. Stefanik continued: “If you play the full speech I gave before the House floor again, I condemn the violence just as I condemn the violence of the BLM riots.” . Other than a speech he gave on the House floor in January 2021 after the Capitol riot, it was small.
“But importantly, I also supported election integrity and election security. Without that, there is no democracy,” she said. “So the real threat to our democracy is the baseless witch-hunt investigation and lawsuit against President Trump, whether it's Tish James or the trial in the D.C. Circuit Court. And it's undemocratic. , is tearing our Constitution to shreds. And you know who would agree.” “With me, Kristen? The American people. That's why President Trump is beating Joe Biden in poll after poll. That's why I'm here.”
Her remarks echoed former President Trump's speech in Iowa, where he called on President Biden to release the “J6 hostages,” adding that the prisoners “have suffered enough.”
President Biden speaks at Montgomery County Community College in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, on January 5, 2024, ahead of the third anniversary of the January 6 riot. (Kyle Mazza/Anadolu via Getty Images)
“You know what they should do. They should release the J6 hostages. I call them hostages. Some call them prisoners. I call them hostages.” President Trump said Saturday, drawing applause. “Free the J6 hostages, Joe. Free them, Joe. It's very easy to do, Joe.”
In a speech ahead of the third anniversary of the Capitol riot, Biden defended the January 6 defendants, who were sentenced to more than 840 years in prison combined.
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The president also said more than 1,200 people have been charged in connection with the “storming of the Capitol,” and nearly 900 of them have been convicted or pleaded guilty.
“So what has Trump done? Instead of calling them 'criminals,' he's calling these… insurrectionists 'patriots,'” Biden said Friday from Pennsylvania. . “They are 'patriots' and he promised he would pardon them if he returned to office.”
