Georgia Republican election official debunks Trump's election conspiracy theories 'point by point'
A day after the audio of President Trump's controversial phone call with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger leaked to the public, Georgia's voting system implementation manager debunked several of the election conspiracy theories espoused by the commander-in-chief.
During a press conference Monday, Gabriel Sterling — who like Raffensperger is a Republican and has called out Trump before — went point by point to prove the president's allegations of widespread voter fraud were "easily, provably false."
First he addressed Trump's question about whether election officials are shredding ballots in Georgia. The short answer from Sterling was no, but he went on to explain that "there's shredding of envelopes that were the non-used ones, or there's also shredding of the secrecy envelopes that came through" along with mail-in ballots. Sterling said those have "no evidentiary value" and are "basically trash." On the other hand, signature and oath envelopes and the ballots themselves are being kept for 22 months, as required by law.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Next, Sterling hit the president's claim that people were "changing parts" of Dominion voting machines. Sterling was admittedly stumped by this one, not because there was any validity to it, but because "I don't know even know what that means ... I don't even know how exactly to explain that."
Growing exasperated, Sterling quickly clarified that Raffensperger does not have a brother named Ron who works for Huawei, and then broke down why there was no "hacking of Dominion during a Senate hearing last week." Ballot marking devices and scanners don't have modems, he said, and "it's very hard to hack things that don't have modems." Watch the clip below.Tim O'Donnell
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
Today's political cartoons - December 22, 2024
Cartoons Sunday's cartoons - the long and short of it, trigger finger, and more
By The Week US Published
-
5 hilariously spirited cartoons about the spirit of Christmas
Cartoons Artists take on excuses, pardons, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Inside the house of Assad
The Explainer Bashar al-Assad and his father, Hafez, ruled Syria for more than half a century but how did one family achieve and maintain power?
By The Week UK Published
-
Top Russian general killed in Moscow blast
Speed Read A remote-triggered bomb killed Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, the head of Russia's Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Defense
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Why Assad fell so fast
The Explainer The newly liberated Syria is in an incredibly precarious position, but it's too soon to succumb to defeatist gloom
By The Week UK Published
-
NATO chief urges Europe to arm against Russia
Speed Read Mark Rutte said Putin wants to 'wipe Ukraine off the map' and might come for other parts of Europe next
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
New Syria government takes charge, urging 'stability'
Speed Read The rebel forces that ousted Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad announced an interim government
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Romania's election rerun
The Explainer Shock result of presidential election has been annulled following allegations of Russian interference
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Russia's shadow war in Europe
Talking Point Steering clear of open conflict, Moscow is slowly ratcheting up the pressure on Nato rivals to see what it can get away with.
By The Week UK Published
-
South Korea roiled by short-lived martial law
Speed Read President Yoon Suk Yeol's imposition of martial law was a 'clear violation of the constitution,' said the opposition parties who have moved to impeach him
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Syrian rebels seize Aleppo in surprise offensive
Speed Read The rebels made gains against President Bashar al-Assad’s forces and reignited Syria's 13-year-old civil war
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published