Trump Calls on PA Senate Pres to Fulfill Promise, Conduct Full Forensic Audit
Former President Donald Trump urged Pennsylvania Senate President Pro Tempore Jake Corman on Friday to follow Arizona’s lead and initiate a full forensic audit of November’s election in the Keystone State.
The 45th president referenced the visit that three Pennsylvania state lawmakers made to Arizona this week to tour the audit site and receive a briefing concerning the undertaking.
“Great patriots led by State Senator Doug Mastriano, Senator Cris Dush, and State Representative Rob Kauffman went to Maricopa County, Arizona, to learn the best practices for conducting a full Forensic Audit of the 2020 General Election,” Trump said in a statement.
“Now the Pennsylvania Senate needs to act. Senate President Jake Corman needs to fulfill his promise to his constituents to conduct a full Forensic Audit,” the former president added.
Morning! I’m your pool reporter today. I took some time away this weekend so I’m trying to get all caught up and will report back soon! #azauditpool pic.twitter.com/lqoc31ZEwU
— Jen Fifield (@JenAFifield) June 1, 2021
“Senator Dave Argall, Chairman of the State Government Committee, has to authorize the subpoenas, if necessary. The people of Pennsylvania and America deserve to know the truth. If the Pennsylvania Senate leadership doesn’t act, there is no way they will ever get re-elected!”
Corman told the Philadelphia Inquirer in November that he supported an independent audit of the election.
“The audit will either — A, give us some ideas about the future elections — or B, maybe show some problems in this one,” he said.
[firefly_poll]
Corman said the audit was, in part, necessitated by decisions made by former Pennsylvania Democratic Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar to change election procedures concerning absentee ballots in contradiction of laws passed by the state legislature.
“Where the secretary has brought a cloud over our election on all her actions, this is an attempt to remove that cloud,” Corman said.
#azauditpool need help remembering something. Weren’t there big screens added over the tally entry table, where count is being entered into computers, and multiple people watching in a huddle? Not anymore? @votinggeek @Garrett_Archer @JerodMacEvoy @jeremyduda pic.twitter.com/pF5FrPuKIL
— Jen Fifield (@JenAFifield) June 1, 2021
Asked if an audit would create doubt in the minds of Pennsylvania voters, the senator argued it would not.
“No, I mean, look, you can put your head in the sand and pretend like nothing happened, or you can, you know, review and learn,” he said.
“My phone’s been ringing off the hook about the election results. And so the best way to have faith in the results is to have clarity. And so by doing these types of reviews, doing these types of audits brings clarity.”
The Pennsylvania Legislative Delegation is currently meeting with Members of the Arizona Legislature to discuss election integrity in the United States. pic.twitter.com/JzDan3tD0V
— AZ Audit War Room (@AuditWarRoom) June 2, 2021
Trump held a 600,000 vote lead over President Joe Biden in Pennsylvania the day after the election, only to see it disappear as absentee ballots continued to be counted.
Biden ultimately carried the commonwealth by approximately 80,500 votes.
The Democrat received 1.4 million more mail-in ballots than Trump, while the latter carried the Election Day by more than 1.3 million votes.
State Sen. Doug Mastriano has been one of the most outspoken lawmakers regarding election procedure changes put in place by Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration, often with the approval of the state’s Supreme Court.
At the audit today:
PA Senate
Chris Dush
Doug Mastriano @SenMastrianoPA House
Rob KauffmanAZ House
Jacqueline Parker @electjacqparker
Leo Biasiucci @Leo4AzHouse
Joe Chaplik @JosephChaplikAZ Senate
Sonny Borrelli @SonnyBorrelli
Wendy Rogers pic.twitter.com/oLF7xL3fUo— Wendy Rogers (@WendyRogersAZ) June 2, 2021
The state senator oversaw a meeting in Gettysburg in late November during which former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and others testified concerning what they saw as election irregularities in the Keystone State.
According to a YouTube video released by WGAL-TV, Mastriano said after Wednesday’s tour, “Should an audit happen in Pennsylvania, the Arizona model is the one.”
Wolf blasted the Pennsylvania lawmakers’ trip to Arizona, tweeting Friday, “What they’re calling for isn’t an ‘audit.’ It’s a taxpayer-funded disinformation campaign and a disgrace to democracy. Pennsylvania had a free and secure election. That’s a fact. Pennsylvanians deserve better from their elected officials.”
State Attorney General Josh Shapiro, whose office defended the changes to election procedures last fall in court, was harsher in his assessment.
He responded to Trump’s call for a Pennsylvania audit, tweeting, “Demanding this partisan sham audit to undermine our elections is not patriotic, it’s seditious.”
The Democrat added in another tweet, “If they try and bring this sham audit to Pennsylvania, they’ll have to go through me.”
If they try and bring this sham audit to Pennsylvania, they’ll have to go through me. https://t.co/KopGSGmCds
— AG Josh Shapiro (@PAAttorneyGen) June 4, 2021
According to WGAL, state Sen. Dave Argall, whose Senate State Government Committee has jurisdiction over elections, indicated he’s open to hearing what his legislative colleagues learned during the tour of the Arizona audit.
Mastriano is convinced Pennsylvania needs to move forward with a review.
“I don’t think we really have an option. We probably have to do this in a couple counties. Let the chips fall where they may,” he told One America News Network, the York Daily Record reported.
“This is not about overturning. It’s about finding the truth.”
