CNN's Jake Tapper dares Trump to launch an investigation into alleged massive illegal voting

Jake Tapper is not buying what President Trump is selling on voter fraud
(Image credit: Twitter/@CNN)

On Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said that President Trump "does believe" that 3 million to 5 million people voted illegally in the last election, apparently all for Hillary Clinton, thus costing him the popular vote. Trump's "belief" is "based on studies and evidence people have presented to him," Spicer said. That may be proof enough for some members of Congress, but CNN's Jake Tapper was having none of it.

"It is empirically a stunning allegation for which the White House is providing no evidence," Tapper said Tuesday evening. "And there is a reason they are providing no evidence. There is no evidence ― it is not true." He suggested that Spicer also knows Trump is spouting nonsense, "perhaps because there is zero evidence of widespread voter fraud in the 2016 election." There have been scattered instances of voter fraud in U.S. elections, he added, but "if there were even a fraction of the voter fraud that President Trump is alleging, he would be derelict not to order a major investigation," since the necessary "vast conspiracy involving public officials all over the country" would have tainted "races down the ballot, not just the presidential race."

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.