Karl Rove: Giuliani, Powell, must prove ‘serious’ and ‘strange’ allegations

Bush administration official Karl Rove said the allegations that Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell have made about the 2020 election are “serious” and “strange” and must be proved in a court of law.

Mr. Rove, who served as a senior adviser to President George W. Bush, said the burden is on Mr. Giuliani and Ms. Powell to prove their allegations that there was a centralized plot of widespread voter fraud in Democrat-run cities and that the scheme involved late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, liberal billionaire George Soros and the Clinton Foundation.

“These are serious, I think somewhat strange, accusations, but serious and now both Mr. Giuliani and Ms. Powell have an obligation to go to court and prove them,” he said on Fox News. “They have an obligation to go to court and prove these or the American people will have every reason to question their credibility.”

Mr. Giuliani and Ms. Powell aired their allegations during a press conference Thursday saying the election has been stolen from President Trump and that they have the evidence to prove it.

Mr. Giuliani said that he has collected affidavits from voters alleging fraud and corruption, but said he was reluctant to share them with the press because the people that shared their stories don’t want to be harassed.

Mr. Giuliani also blamed the mainstream media for not reporting on the affidavits and not embracing the allegations of widespread fraud that have gotten little traction in the courts.

“I am not going to say they don’t have proof, but they better come up with proof and go to court because these are serious allegations that basically say our election was manipulated by a combination of foreign and domestic actors and stolen, and that cannot be left just simply out there, it needs to be proven or withdrawn,” Mr. Rove said.

Mr. Rove said Mr. Giuliani could be right to say that people who signed affidavits claiming voter fraud do not want to be named publicly, but “by God, you cannot make accusations like that without following it through, by going to court, and trying to prove it.”

“If it is left out there, it will be both unfair to the president if it is true, and unfair to the American people if it is false,” he said.