Rudy Giuliani, Pennsylvania GOP Legislators Allege Disputed 'Election Irregularities' During Senate Committee Hearing
GETTYSBURG, Pa. (CBS) -- President Donald Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani joined a group of Pennsylvania Republican state senators in Gettysburg on Wednesday. They said they're looking into "election irregularities," although their court fights over ballots have been repeatedly shot down.
On Tuesday, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf certified President-elect Joe Biden as the winner of the presidential election in the state.
Trump was due to join Giuliani at the Republican-led Pennsylvania State Majority Policy Committee Hearing in Gettysburg on Wednesday afternoon, but he did not make the trip after reportedly learning that a member of the campaign tested positive for COVID-19.
The meeting went on as scheduled with Giuliani continuing to allege voter fraud in the Pennsylvania presidential election, despite no systemic fraud having been uncovered in the weeks since the election.
"In the case of Philadelphia and in the case of Allegheny County and one or two other counties, the mail-in ballots that were received were not inspected at all by any Republican. They were hidden from Republicans," Giuliani said.
Committee members heard testimony from Republican poll watchers in Philadelphia and surrounding suburbs who claim they were denied access to the mail-in ballot-counting process.
"For 10 days for more than 80 hours, what I saw was not a secure and transparent election," Justin Kweder said.
These allegations have been disputed by election officials.
In fact, Philadelphia City Commissioner Al Schmidt reiterated on Wednesday that the city's ballot-counting process was observed by poll watchers from all parties and live-streamed to the public.
Fact Check: Exactly ZERO mail-in ballots were challenged by the Trump campaign on the basis of the voter's eligibility to cast their vote in Philadelphia.
— Al Schmidt (@Commish_Schmidt) November 25, 2020
Fact Check: Both the PA Supreme Court and US Federal Courts have repeatedly rejected all challenges to the decisions made by the Board of Elections related to mail-in ballots cast in Philadelphia.
— Al Schmidt (@Commish_Schmidt) November 25, 2020
A Pennsylvania appeals court judge ordered state officials on Wednesday to halt any further steps toward certifying election results. Wolf's administration quickly asked the state's Supreme Court to block the ruling, saying there was "no conceivable justification" for it.
"Since the birth of our nation nearly 250 years ago, no court has ever issued an order purporting to interfere with a state's ascertainment of its presidential electors -- until today," the administration said in their motion Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Attorney General Josh Shapiro said the order issued by Commonwealth Court Judge Patricia McCullough, a Republican, does not impact Biden's certification in the state.
This order does not impact yesterday's appointment of electors. We will be filing an appeal with the Pennsylvania Supreme Court momentarily. https://t.co/wRzFwPvJIO
— AG Josh Shapiro (@PAAttorneyGen) November 25, 2020
Republican lawmakers in the commonwealth say they will continue to press for answers on the election process.
"If there is any hint of fraud out there, we need to investigate," State Sen. Doug Mastriano said.
Both parties had approved poll watchers at the polls and throughout the ballot counting process.
The Trump campaign's claims challenging the voting process in Pennsylvania have been repeatedly denied in court.
CBS3's Natasha Brown contributed to this report.
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