'Wildly Inappropriate': Baker Slams 'Baseless' Election Claims By Trump, Republican Efforts To Stall Transition
BOSTON (CBS) -- Gov. Charlie Baker is slamming "baseless claims" from President Donald Trump and "many other elected Republican officials" about the 2020 presidential election.
Former Vice President Joe Biden was projected as the election winner on Saturday, but Trump has not conceded the race. His campaign is filing lawsuits in several states challenging the results, but has not produced evidence of widespread fraud that could change the results.
On Monday, Attorney General Bill Barr authorized prosecutors to "pursue substantial allegations" of voter fraud.
"I'm dismayed to hear the baseless claims coming from the President, from his team, and from many other elected Republican officials in Washington," Baker, a Republican, said at a news conference Tuesday. "This latest move to employ the Department of Justice in all of this is so wildly inappropriate, and stalling an orderly transition process, especially at a time like this is equally unacceptable."
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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is among the Republican leaders who have backed Trump's refusal to concede.
"If the Trump campaign has legitimate legal challenges they should bring them to court, and the courts should deal with those as quickly and as fairly as possible," Baker said. "But I'm aware of no legitimate claims of wrongdoing anywhere near the scale it would take to affect this outcome."
Baker told reporters on Election Day that he didn't vote for either Biden or Trump, saying "I blanked it." He has been a frequent critic of Trump, who referred to Baker as a "Republican in name only."
As coronavirus cases surge all over the country, Baker added that he "can't think of a worse time to stall a transition."
"What this President is doing at this point in time, is not in the best interest of this country," Baker said.
Jim Lyons, the Chairman of the Massachusetts Republican Party, said he does not believe the outcome of the election should be rushed.
"At the end of the day, I think all Americans want to see a process that's open, transparent, and fair. What's wrong with that?" Lyons said. "Seventy million people voted for him. I don't think anybody would say, especially given how many of these states are so close, that we should just say, OK, it's over."
