As Congress prepares to affirm President-elect Joe Biden's victory, protesters are expected to gather in New York City to call for an investigation into President Donald Trump who has repeated baseless claims of election fraud.
The count of Electoral College votes from every state on Wednesday marks the final process before Biden's inauguration later this month and it comes amid Georgia's Senate runoff race that will decide which party controls the chamber of Congress. Supporters of Trump have already started to gather in D.C. the previous day to object the election result.
On the other side, protesters will rally Wednesday outside Trump Tower on 5th Avenue over the president's hourlong weekend phone call with a Georgia election official in which he pressed Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find” enough votes to overturn Biden's win.
The president repeatedly cited disproven claims of fraud and raised the prospect of a “criminal offense” if officials did not change the vote count, according to a recording of the conversation obtained by NBC News.
Hundreds of protesters flooded the nation's capital ahead of Congress's presidential election certification vote. Adam Kuperstein reports.
"He was caught breaking the law, trying to steal a presidential election. He should be tried, and further investigation is needed," protest organizer Rise and Resist New York wrote in a tweet.
A pair of House Democrats, Rep. Kathleen Rice of New York and Rep. Ted Lieu of California, have asked FBI Director Christopher Wray to open a criminal probe into Trump after the phone call was made public. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., went further and said Sunday that the president's conduct was "impeachable."
Trump has not conceded to Biden and he tweeted early Wednesday that "we will win the Presidency" if Vice President Mike Pence "comes through" by overturning the Electoral votes.
The New York Times on Tuesday reported that Pence had told Trump earlier in the day that he doesn’t believe he has the power to block the certification. In a response to the report, Trump says Pence never said such a thing and that they're in "total agreement."
"Our Vice President has several options under the U.S. Constitution. He can decertify the results or send them back to the states for change and certification. He can also decertify the illegal and corrupt results and send them to the House of Representatives for the one vote for one state tabulation," Trump said.
However, under the constitution, the Vice President cannot change election results.
At least 13 Republican senators, and more than 100 House Republicans, plan to reject President-elect Biden's Electoral College win and slow down the process --- but it almost certainly will not change the outcome because more than enough Republicans have said they will certify Biden's victory.
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January 06, 2021 at 04:58PM
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Protesters to Gather in NYC as Congress Set to Confirm Joe Biden as President - NBC New York
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