Latest on 2020 election and SCOTUS battle

The Denver Nuggets' Paul Millsap in a Sept. 20 game against the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Denver Nuggets Paul Millsap, who is currently playing in the NBA Western Conference Finals, has announced a partnership with Georgia’s DeKalb County to provide his personal training facility, CORE4, as an election vote center from Oct. 12 through Oct. 30.

“I chose to wear ‘Vote’ on my Denver Nuggets jersey during the 2020 NBA Playoffs to demonstrate my personal passion for the cause,” Millsap said in a news release. “However, I was compelled to do more. So, I’m proud to provide access to the CORE4 facility as an early voting polling location in the DeKalb community.”

Millsap is also part of the “I am a Voter” campaign, with the hopes to create a cultural shift around voting and civic engagement.

He said he plans to honor the life of Congressman John Lewis by encouraging students to be part of the “Good Trouble” mantra that Lewis famously coined.

White House chief of staff Mark Meadows today said he fully expects a peaceful transition of power following the election, despite President Trump again declining to commit to relinquishing the presidency if he is defeated in November.  

“If it’s free and fair, we’ll accept the will of the American people,” said Meadows, speaking with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, adding, “we believe that will be the re-election of Donald Trump.”

When pressed by Blitzer, Meadows said he believed Trump would also support a peaceful transition, as long the Constitution was upheld in the process. 

“As long as we’re upholding the Constitution… I fully expect that we’ll have a peaceful transition of power that the President not only will support but Americans across the country will support,” he said. 

At a news conference Wednesday, Trump again declined to guarantee a peaceful transfer if he loses to Joe Biden.

“Well, we’re going to have to see what happens,” Trump said when asked whether he’d commit to a peaceful transition, one of the cornerstones of American democracy. “You know that I’ve been complaining very strongly about the ballots, and the ballots are a disaster.”

Trump has previously refused to say whether he would accept the election results, echoing his sentiments from 2016. And Trump has joked — he says —about staying in office well past the constitutionally bound two terms.

Watch the moment:

The Boston Red Sox play against the New York Yankees at Fenway Park on Sept. 20.

Boston’s historic Fenway Park hasn’t hosted spectators for baseball games in recent months due to the coronavirus pandemic, but for two days in October, the city’s residents will be able to visit the ballpark while casting their vote in the US presidential election.

The Boston City Election Commission on Thursday approved the use of the Boston Red Sox home as an early voting location on Oct. 17 and 18.

Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles and Nationals Park in Washington, DC, have also been approved as voting venues. The NBA says the league has 21 team facilities set to host voting-related activities.

Former United States National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster said Thursday that President Trump’s refusal to commit to a peaceful transition of power after Election Day is “very disappointing.” 

“Really this is something that our founders feared,” McMaster said in an interview with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer. “We all have to demand that our leaders restore confidence in our democratic principles and institutions and processes. Of course, it’s the administration who has responsibility to secure the election process. There’s been a lot of work done within that administration to do it after the lessons of the 2016 election.”

On Wednesday, Trump was asked whether he would not commit to a peaceful transition of power and he said, “Well, we’re going to have to see what happens.”

The retired United States Army lieutenant general went on to echo America’s most senior general, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, who told Congress in a letter released in August that the military will not play a role in November’s election and won’t help settle any disputes if the results are contested.

“Those who suggest that the military would have any role in transition, they are being equally irresponsible,” McMaster said. “The military should have nothing to do with partisan politics and nothing to do with even any talk about a transition between administrations.”

Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine on Thursday tweeted he will issue a proclamation activating around 300 state National Guard members ahead of Tuesday’s first presidential debate in Cleveland. 

The guard members will assist Cleveland police to “ensure a safe and secure environment for those attending Tuesday’s presidential debate,” DeWine said in the tweet. 

During a news briefing, DeWine said, “Last night Cleveland officials sent a formal request for us to make available our National Guard and we are granting that. In the past, when we’ve been asked for help by any of our cities, we’ve been able to supply the National Guard.” 

Read the governor’s tweet:

President Donald Trump departs the White House September 24, in Washington.

President Trump will sign a series of executive orders on health care Thursday as part of an announcement about his larger health care vision for the country, according to administration officials who conducted a call with reporters Thursday afternoon.

According to Azar, the executive actions will address individuals with preexisting conditions and surprise medical billing.

“The President is declaring that it is the policy of the United States to provide protections to ensure that Americans with preexisting conditions are protected regardless of whether the Affordable Care Act is unconstitutional, and its protections of preexisting conditions invalidated,” Azar said.

Some context: Today’s announcements on executive actions still don’t offer comprehensive details of a long-promised health care plan to replace the Affordable Care Act. The President has promised since 2017 that his plan would be released soon, but the administration has blown through a number of self-imposed deadlines to produce a plan. 

The latest deadline set by the White House is less than two months before the 2020 election, but there is virtually no chance the legislation will be approved by Congress and ready for Trump to sign before Nov. 3.

Trump’s attempts to replace the Affordable Care Act while in office go back to 2017, when efforts to pass a Republican health care bill backed by the White House fell apart. GOP lawmakers have shied away from tackling the issue since then.

Still, the President has repeatedly promised to unveil a new health care bill.

In an interview with Fox News this July, Trump said he would be signing a “full and complete health care plan” within two weeks. And in an Aug. 3 press briefing, Trump said his health care plan would most likely be released before the end of the month.

And at an ABC town hall last week, Trump said that his health care plan is “all ready.”

“We’re going to be doing a health care plan very strongly and protect people with pre-existing conditions,” he said. White House chief of staff Mark Meadows told reporters last week that an Obamacare-alternative health care plan will be rolled out sometime “before the election.”

President Trump said he’s not sure November’s election will be honest with unsolicited ballots, again casting doubt as to whether he would accept the results of the election.

Asked if the election results would only be legitimate if he wins, Trump did not answer, instead saying “we have to be very careful with the ballots,” calling mail-in voting a scam.

 “We want to make sure the elections is honest, and I’m not sure that it can be, I don’t know that it can be with this whole situation, unsolicited ballots, they’re unsolicited, millions being sent to everybody,” Trump added.

His claims about unsolicited ballots are not accurate.

Facts First: While some sources estimate there will be around 80 million ballots submitted by mail this year, the President is wrong to suggest that they are all somehow unsolicited. In 41 of 50 states, voters have to request their ballot by mail before being sent one, with only a handful of states automatically sending mail-in ballots to all registered voters.

Trump also criticized Hillary Clinton for telling Joe Biden not to accept the results of the election. Of course, Clinton is not running for president this year and Trump is.

His comments about an “honest election” come one day after he refused to commit to a peaceful transition of power should he lose the election. “Well, we’re going to have to see what happens,” Trump said at a Wednesday news conference.

Earlier on Thursday, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany did not explicitly say Trump would accept the results of the election, only saying Trump would “accept the results of a free and fair election.” However the President himself continues to cast doubt on whether he will view this election as “free and fair.”

Watch the moment:

Supporters of Mike Pence and Donald Trump wait for the Vice President's motorcade during a Sept. 1 "Workers for Trump" rally in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania.

The US Attorney’s Office removed its initial news release regarding an investigation into “discarded” ballots in Pennsylvania and issued a new one that changed some of the facts. The new release said seven of the ballots were cast for presidential candidate Donald Trump. 

The initial release had said all nine were cast for Trump.

“Two of the discarded ballots had been resealed inside their appropriate envelopes by Luzerne elections staff prior to recovery by the FBI and the contents of those 2 ballots are unknown,” the new statement said.

Reached by CNN’s Kelly Mena, the US Attorney’s Office acknowledged that there was a new release, but had no further comment on the investigation.

The Luzerne District Attorney’s office tells CNN the ballots were general election ballots.

This post has been updated with new details on the US Attorney’s Office investigation into “discarded” ballots in Pennsylvania.

The US Senate on Thursday agreed unanimously to state the obvious – that the chamber is committed to the orderly and peaceful transition of power – even if President Trump has declined to do just that.

A day after Trump appeared to call into question a bedrock democratic principle, the chamber passed, by unanimous consent, a resolution that “reaffirms its commitment to the orderly and peaceful transfer of power called for in the Constitution of the United States; and intends that there should be no disruptions by the President or any person in power to overturn the will of the people of the US.”

The resolution, offered by Sen. Joe Manchin, comes after Republicans were deluged by questions throughout the day Thursday about Trump’s comments. Most Republicans expressed little worry about them, repeatedly telling reporters the transition, if Trump were to lose in November, would be the same as it has been for centuries.

Trump’s comments were enough to draw a rare tweet from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell related to comments made by the President.

“The winner of the November 3rd election will be inaugurated on January 20th,” McConnell tweeted. “There will be an orderly transition just as there has been every four years since 1792.”

Asked if he took Trump seriously, McConnell responded: “That’s what my tweet was about. I think it pretty well sums up what I feel about it.”

Chief of Staff Mark Meadows speaks with reporters at the White House on Thursday, September 17.

White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows refused to explicitly say President Trump would accept the results of November’s election, instead saying, “we have a history of a peaceful transition of power” after fair elections.

He later added that the White House is prepared for the peaceful transition of power but cited Hillary Clinton telling Joe Biden not to concede the election so “we just need to make sure we’re clear on both sides.”

Meadows said that President Trump’s presidency has been about upholding the rule of law and “he’s consistent with that as it applies to the November 3rd election.”

The chief of staff went on to criticize judges in certain states who he claimed are making “adjustments to election laws without ever having been elected and also railed against “unsolicited ballots,” which he called a “perversion of the electoral process.”

“Bluntly, is that we are continuing to see a perversion of the electoral process with mail-in ballots that are unsolicited, that continue to go out with process in North Carolina. What they’ve done in North Carolina over the last 48 hours is, it may not be criminal, but it’s certainly in my opinion, unethical of the way they are trying to make a consent decree to change the laws of the legislature there,” he said.

Facts First: While some sources estimate there will be around 80 million ballots submitted by mail this year, the President is wrong to suggest that they are all somehow unsolicited. In 41 of 50 states, voters have to request their ballot by mail before being sent one, with only a handful of states automatically sending mail-in ballots to all registered voters.

The Pennsylvania Republican Party is pushing back against the explosive report from The Atlantic that said the GOP-run legislature is already strategizing how to overturn the statewide results if Trump loses.

The scheme — if it were to happen — could look like this: If Biden is certified as the winner in Pennsylvania, the Democratic governor will follow proper procedure and approve a pro-Biden slate of electors for the Electoral College.

But, according to The Atlantic, GOP lawmakers have explored what powers the state legislature has to declare that the results were tainted and instead appoint a pro-Trump slate of electors. In this extreme and unprecedented scenario, Congress would have to decide which slate reflected the will of the people.

The Atlantic quoted Pennsylvania GOP chair Lawrence Tabas, who said this scheme “is one of the available legal options set forth in the Constitution” and that he had “mentioned it” to the Trump campaign and hopes “they’re thinking about it.” Tabas is correct that the US Constitution gives state legislatures the power to regulate how electors are chosen, though legal scholars aren’t sure if they can change the rules mid-election.

In an emailed statement to CNN, Vonne Andring, executive director of the Pennsylvania Republican Party, said Tabas was asked about these extreme election scenarios and responded “with facts.” Andring criticized the article, saying, “The Atlantic used that interview to spin an out of context, pre-emptive farce.” In the statement, Andring did not definitively rule out using the legislature to overturn the statewide results. 

“As the Chairman said, all of us want a swift, accurate result,” Andring said.

The statement also noted that Republicans, who control the legislature, recently passed a bill that would speed up ballot-processing. That provision has bipartisan support, but the bill has other measures that are opposed Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf, like banning new dropboxes and easing rules on partisan poll-watchers.

In response to the reporting about post-election maneuvering in Pennsylvania, CNN election law analyst Rick Hasen wrote a column saying these efforts were a “pre-emptive attack on the vote-count.” He condemned efforts like the one in Pennsylvania as “part of a play to grab power if the election is close enough.”

Sen. Bernie Sanders delivers an address on threats to American democracy at George Washington University on September 24.

In his first in-person event since ending his presidential campaign earlier this year, Sen. Bernie Sanders urged Americans of all parties to come together to protect the nation’s democracy against the threat posed by President Trump.

Sanders, urging Americans to take President Trump’s words seriously, quoted the President’s own comments in the White House briefing room on Wednesday in which he would not commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he loses the election.

“That’s not his choice. That’s for the American people to determine,” Sanders said, later adding, “that may be what his friend Putin does in Russia. It may be what is done in other authoritarian countries. But it is not and will not be done in America.”

Sanders issued this warning to the President: “No matter how rich and powerful you may be, no matter how arrogant and narcissistic you may be, no matter how much you think you can get anything you want, let me make this clear to Donald Trump: Too many people have fought and died to defend American democracy. You are not going to destroy it.”

The progressive politician’s speech was a clear call for the unity of Americans of all parties and political backgrounds.

 “With less than 6 weeks left to go in this campaign it is my fervent hope that all Americans — Democrats, Republicans, independents, progressives, moderates, conservatives —come together to defend American democracy, our constitution and the rule of law,” he said. 

Several times throughout his remarks, Sanders cited concerns about election integrity and the President from Republicans, including former Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, former DHS official Miles Taylor, notable election lawyer Benjamin Ginsberg and a co-founder of the Federalist Society.

The senator said President Trump is “attempting massive voter suppression” through his repeated baseless comments about mail-in voting and voter fraud.

“I call on every elected official in America whether they be Republican, Democrat or Independent to vigorously oppose voter suppression and voter intimidation, to make sure that every vote is counted, and that no one is declared the winner until those votes are counted,” Sanders said, later remarking that “everything possible must be done to prevent chaos, disinformation, and, yes, even violence” in the wake of the election. 

People in the crowd boo as President Trump and first lady Melania Trump pay their respects to Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg at the Supreme Court on Thursday.

Loud booing and chants at the Supreme Court on Thursday were “appalling,” the White House said.

President Trump was met with chants of “vote him out” when he traveled to the court earlier today to pay his respects to the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Trump rarely sees or interacts with non-supportive crowds. In the states McEnany listed, Trump has attended rallies with his supporters. 

Later, McEnany said the crowd had the right to protest — but shouldn’t have.

“Everyone has a first amendment in this country. But I thought it was an appalling and disrespectful thing to do as the President honored Justice Ginsburg,” she said.

Joe Biden speaks to members of the media before boarding a plane at Charlotte Douglas International Airport in Charlotte, N.C., Wednesday, Sept. 23.

Joe Biden’s presidential campaign held a press call Thursday afternoon on protecting the Affordable Care Act in light of the Supreme Court vacancy, an issue they see as a leading fight in the run up to the November election. 

Asked by CNN’s Arlette Saenz for reaction to President Trump’s unwillingness to commit to a peaceful transfer of power, the Biden campaign’s Kate Bedingfield said that Biden will participate in a peaceful transfer of power and noted that Trump’s comments are only meant to distract from the issue of health care.  

“Joe Biden has participated in a peaceful transition of power before,” she added. “He certainly will this time.” 

The campaign previewed that it intends to continue linking health care to the Supreme Court vacancy in its messaging going forward, making the case to the American people to “vote like health care is on the ballot because it is.” Bedingfield said this will continue to “be a big argument” for the Democratic presidential nominee. 

Sen. Susan Collins said that while she has concerns about President Trump’s comments on the transition of power, she is “confident that we will see it occur once again.” 

What this is about: Trump yesterday would not commit to providing a peaceful transition of power after Election Day, sparking further concerns he may not relinquish his office should he lose in November.

When pressed on whether voting by mail was secure, FBI Director Christopher Wray said Thursday, historically there hasn’t been national voter fraud regardless of the method of voting.

However, there has been voter fraud at the local level “from time to time,” adding that “mounting that kind of fraud at scale would be a major challenge for an adversary but people should make no mistake we’re vigilant as to the threat and watching it carefully because we’re in an uncharted new territory.”

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi at a September 23 news conference where House Democrats introduced the Protecting Our Democracy Act.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday responded to President Trump’s refusal to commit to a peaceful transfer of power in the event that he loses the November election.

She hit Trump for how he has treated authoritarian leaders around the world, tying it to his comments about the upcoming election.

“We do know who he admires. He admires Putin. He admires Kim Jong Un. He admires Erdogan in Turkey. He admires people who are perpetuating their roles in government. But we remind him, you are not in North Korea, you are not In Turkey, you are not in Russia, Mr. President. And by the way, you are not in Saudi Arabia,” Pelosi said during her weekly press conference. “You are in the United States of America. It is a democracy. So why don’t you just try for a moment to honor your oath of office to the Constitution of the United States?” 

Asked if the House would consider a more formal reprimand, like a censure resolution, in response to Trump’s remarks, Pelosi told reporters, “I don’t think he’s worth the trouble at this point. We have 40 days until the election.”

“What really matters in terms of the peaceful transfer of power is that people vote and that their vote is counted as cast,” she said. 

She also said she was “pleased” that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell put out a statement about the transfer of power this morning, which she said “seemed to go in the direction of protecting the Constitution of the United States. That was a real change.” 

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer speaks at a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington on Tuesday, September 22.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer railed on the Senate floor this morning about President Trump’s refusal to commit to a peaceful transfer of power should he lose the election, saying that “The greatest threat to our democracy right now, does not come from any foreign capital. It comes from our own. The greatest threat to democracy in America is President Donald Trump.”

He continued:

Sen. John Cornyn departs the US Capitol on September 21.

Sen. John Cornyn, a member of the Senate GOP leadership team, told CNN it was not appropriate for President Trump to refuse to commit to a peaceful transition of power.

“No,” Cornyn said when asked if it was appropriate. 

Asked if the GOP would do something about it if he won’t leave office if he loses, Cornyn said: “I’m not going to answer a hypothetical.” 

Pressed repeatedly by CNN’s Manu Raju, Republican Sen. Kevin Cramer refused to take issue with the President’s remarks and eventually said that Trump often speaks in “very extreme manners” and he didn’t find what he said last night to be “overly extreme, quite honestly.”

Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham, in a difficult re-election race, said: “It will happen,” referring to an orderly transition. “I’m not worried about that. It’s the least of my concerns.”

Graham said: “If there’s a court challenge to the election, it will be decided in court. And the loser of the challenge will accept the results.”

When asked about concerns they are pushing a Supreme Court nominee now to help tilt the outcome of any election results, Graham said: “We need a full court.”

Some Republicans were quick to deflect, pointing to Hillary Clinton’s remarks suggesting that Joe Biden “should not concede under any circumstances.”

North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis, one of the most vulnerable Republicans, said: “Look, there’s going to be an orderly transition of power but if you’ve got spare time today go ask to every Democrat member and ask them if they stand with Hillary Clinton who says that Biden shouldn’t accept the result under any circumstances if he doesn’t win.”

Pressed on whether Trump should accept the results and commit to a peaceful transition, Tillis said: “Get back with me when you have spoken with the Democratic members on somebody who first said don’t accept the result of the election.”

Sen. Chuck Grassley: “Is your question any different than what Hillary Clinton told Biden: ‘don’t concede the election.’ No, it’s very clear whether Biden wins … this presidency ends on January the 20th under the Constitution.”

Speaking in a virtual townhall Thursday, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley encouraged service members, their families and Defense Department civilians to exercise their right to vote and “remain faithful” to the Constitution.

Many younger troops may be voting for the first time in this election.