Zippyjuan
02-02-2017, 02:16 PM
http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/02/politics/trump-voter-fraud-executive-order/
A full week has passed since President Donald Trump said he would sign an executive order opening a Justice Department investigation into his unsubstantiated claim that millions of people voted illegally in November.
The Oval Office signing was abruptly canceled last Thursday and never rescheduled. The White House hasn't talked about it since. The President has moved on to other subjects.
A senior administration official told CNN that the voter fraud investigation is no longer a top priority for the President, insisting it's not off the table, but not expected anytime soon.
The President has repeatedly claimed without evidence that 3 to 5 million people -- mainly undocumented immigrants -- committed voter fraud in his race with Hillary Clinton. He lost the popular vote to Clinton by nearly 3 million votes.
For days, the allegations overshadowed his message. Republican congressional leaders privately urged him to drop the matter, which escalated after Trump declared last week on Twitter: "I will be asking for a major investigation into VOTER FRAUD, including those registered to vote in two states, those who are illegal and ... even, those registered to vote who are dead (and many for a long time)."
Trump was set to sign the action last Thursday afternoon. Reporters and photographers were summoned to the West Wing to document the signing, but waited for about 30 minutes amid confusion from aides.
At the time, White House press secretary Sean Spicer said the President "got jammed up on some meetings that needed to occur."
Spicer said the order would be signed in the next day or two.
One aide said the President is waiting until Sen. Jeff Sessions is confirmed as attorney general before launching an investigation. But others inside the West Wing hope the President doesn't pursue it, CNN has learned.
A full week has passed since President Donald Trump said he would sign an executive order opening a Justice Department investigation into his unsubstantiated claim that millions of people voted illegally in November.
The Oval Office signing was abruptly canceled last Thursday and never rescheduled. The White House hasn't talked about it since. The President has moved on to other subjects.
A senior administration official told CNN that the voter fraud investigation is no longer a top priority for the President, insisting it's not off the table, but not expected anytime soon.
The President has repeatedly claimed without evidence that 3 to 5 million people -- mainly undocumented immigrants -- committed voter fraud in his race with Hillary Clinton. He lost the popular vote to Clinton by nearly 3 million votes.
For days, the allegations overshadowed his message. Republican congressional leaders privately urged him to drop the matter, which escalated after Trump declared last week on Twitter: "I will be asking for a major investigation into VOTER FRAUD, including those registered to vote in two states, those who are illegal and ... even, those registered to vote who are dead (and many for a long time)."
Trump was set to sign the action last Thursday afternoon. Reporters and photographers were summoned to the West Wing to document the signing, but waited for about 30 minutes amid confusion from aides.
At the time, White House press secretary Sean Spicer said the President "got jammed up on some meetings that needed to occur."
Spicer said the order would be signed in the next day or two.
One aide said the President is waiting until Sen. Jeff Sessions is confirmed as attorney general before launching an investigation. But others inside the West Wing hope the President doesn't pursue it, CNN has learned.