President Trump’s personal lawyer Rudolph W. Giuliani made an impassioned plea before Arizona legislators on Monday to fight for every “honest vote” and go down as “heroes” in the annals of American history.
The former New York City mayor, flanked by Trump campaign lawyer Jenna Ellis, said that Republican legislators wield far more power under the U.S. Constitution when it comes to settling presidential election disputes than they realize.
“We’re not guided by your governor. We’re not guided by your Secretary of State. We’re not guided by Joe Biden. We’re not guided by The New York Times,” Mr. Giuliani said. “And we’re not guided by all those stations that called the election. Do you know what we’re guided by? The Constitution of the United States. … Whatever power the governor and the Secretary of State thinks they’re exercising, it isn’t theirs. It’s the legislature’s. You can take it back.”
Mr. Giuliani said it was incumbent upon legislators not to certify the state’s election if bad actors along the way “screwed this up so badly” that discerning who won with legal ballots was nearly impossible.
“It is clear that the numbers are false,” the attorney said. “It is clear that you have included ballots that weren’t properly inspected. It’s clear that you were including ballots that were voted by other people. It’s clear that you’re using machines that have been shown to be totally manipulated in other places, and you won’t give us the opportunity to examine those machines.”
Mr. Giuliani then urged his audience to take a step back and consider the place they are about to occupy in history — for better or worse.
“Based on evidence, you can make the determination [if the election was fair],” he said. “What is the right count? Or how can we get as close to the right count as possible? If we can, then have the courage to select that person to get the electors because that person won the honest vote, and every dishonest vote disenfranchises the decent people who cast an honest vote. Have the courage to do that. In history, I swear to God, you will be heroes. If you can’t make a determination, then don’t certify. That’s happened before. If they have screwed this up so badly that you really can’t make a determination then the answer is you do not certify.”
Mr. Trump, who trails presumptive-president-elect Joseph R. Biden in the state by over 10,000 votes, insists that election audits in key states will reveal massive voter fraud regarding mail-in ballots that mask a decisive win.
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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