Giuliani calls on Arizona GOP lawmakers to not certify election results
Proud Boys member calls for armed revolt outside the meeting.
By AARON REICHRudy Giuliani delivers remarks before Donald Trump rallies with supporters in Council Bluffs, Iowa, U.S., September 28, 2016.(photo credit: REUTERS / JONATHAN ERNST)
Former New York City mayor and President Donald Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani on Monday called on Arizona state Republican lawmakers to fight and to not certify the state's vote counting. He added that if they did, they would go down as "heroes" in American history, according to the Washington Times.Giuliani's pleas concern the Trump campaign's ongoing efforts to discredit the US election, which has widely been called in favor of presumptive President-elect Joe Biden.In particular, Trump and Giuliani have alleged that severe voter fraud took place in several key states, including Arizona, whose 11 electoral votes have gone to Biden.But while the overwhelming majority of media outlets and government officials (both state and federal) have called Arizona's votes in favor of Biden, Giuliani says the fight isn't over yet, and that the Republican lawmakers in the states have more power than they realize to settle the dispute, thanks to the Constitution."Whatever power the governor and the secretary of state think they’re exercising, it isn’t theirs, it’s the legislature’s. You can take it back," he said at the meeting.Giuliani explained that "it is clear that the numbers [from the election] are false," and alleged that mass voter fraud has taken place due to improper inspections and "using machines that have been shown to be totally manipulated in other places."He told lawmakers that he is asking them to fight against possible voter fraud that "disenfranchises the decent people who cast an honest vote" and to try to convince other legislators to do the same – even if that means putting their political career on the line."Do not be bullied; do not be frightened," Giuliani said. "Your political career is worth losing if you can save the right to vote in America."And if they have the "courage" to refuse to certify the election results because they are deemed unfair due to these allegations, then "In history, I swear to God, you will be heroes," he added.His comments came in a meeting convened by state lawmakers, at which a number of witnesses alleged voter fraud in the state.Outside the meeting in Phoenix, Arizona, Trump supporters gathered for a "Stop the Steal" rally. Among these supporters, one of them – a member of the far-right white supremacist organization the Proud Boys – called others to carry out an armed revolt should the Constitution be infringed upon and the election not called for Trump, Newsweekreported."At the moment, we're free. But the moment they start trying to take our Constitution is the moment the Second Amendment kicks in," the Proud Boys member said. "It's the moment where we've got to start telling them, we're not taking it anymore."We're not going to 'stand back and stand by' anymore. We're standing up and going after you if you come after us," he added.
Most experts and politicians have disregarded Trump's claims of election fraud, which he continues to express daily on social media, noting that the president has yet to provide evidence in his favor. Numerous lawsuits regarding election fraud have so far been tossed out of court, and there is increasing pressure on Trump to concede.
