Jeh Johnson also discussed national security implications of delayed transition.
John Bolton, President Donald Trump‘s former national security adviser, said Sunday that leaders of the Republican Party should explain to their voters that Trump lost the election and that his claims of fraud are baseless.
“Now the Trump campaign is doing the legal equivalent of pitching pennies,” Bolton said on ABC’s “This Week.” “I think as every day goes by, it’s clearer and clearer, there isn’t any evidence.”
“But if the Republican voters are only hearing Donald Trump’s misrepresentations, it’s not surprising that they believe it,” he added. “It’s critical for other Republican leaders to stand up and explain what actually happened. Donald Trump lost what — by any evidence we have so far — was a free and fair election.”
President-elect Joe Biden is currently projected to win 306 electoral votes compared to the president’s 232. Trump continues to challenge the election results in court.
Bolton and former Obama Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson also discussed the national security implications of a delayed transition for Biden.
In a separate interview on “This Week,” Johnson said he was concerned that Trump fired Secretary of Defense Mark Esper.
“If I were in the Biden transition team right now, I’d be very focused, as priority A, on restoring stability in our national security,” Johnson told “This Week” Co-Anchor Martha Raddatz.
The president’s extended refusal to concede has prevented Biden from formally beginning the transition process. The General Services Administration has yet to officially “ascertain” the winner of the election, leaving Biden and his advisers without the resources for a smooth transition, including daily intelligence briefings.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence said earlier this week that it “would not have contact” with Biden’s transition team or brief the president-elect until the GSA officially declares him the winner.
Experts like Lee Hamilton, a former Democratic congressman from Indiana who has studied the issue, told ABC News that a delayed transition opens “dangerous gaps in the security posture of the United States.”
Several Republican senators, including Maine Sen. Susan Collins and South Dakota Sen. John Thune have said they believe Biden should have access to daily intelligence briefings.
This is a developing news story. Please check back for updates.
