President-elect Joe Biden said Donald Trump’s refusal to accept the result of the election was an “embarrassment” that will stain his White House legacy.
Bloomberg: Biden, in his first news conference as president-elect, said he was moving forward regardless of Republican legal challenges and Trump’s refusal to allow his administration to cooperate in the smooth transition of power.
“I just think it’s an embarrassment, quite frankly,” Biden told reporters in Wilmington, Delaware. “How can I say this tactfully? I think it will not help the president’s legacy.”
Biden said he is not receiving the full intelligence briefing normally afforded to presidents-elect.
The Trump administration has refused to give Biden’s transition team access to the secure facilities required for such a briefing.
“Obviously the PDB would be useful,” Biden said of the Presidential Daily Brief. “Access to classified information would be useful,” he said but noted that the stand-off “does not change the dynamic at all of what we’re able to do.”
Republicans have escalated their efforts to challenge Biden’s victory.
On Monday, Attorney General William Barr authorized Justice Department officials to open inquiries into potential irregularities in the presidential election, though he acknowledged there’s no conclusive evidence.
Barr received cover from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who delivered a floor speech earlier Monday saying that the president is “100% within his rights” to challenge the election results.
The attorney general’s announcement came after he met with the top Senate Republican at the U.S. Capitol.
Biden, a long-serving senator, said he had not yet spoken to the Senate leader, who he referred to as “Mitch,” but said he expects to do so soon.
The Justice Department said neither Trump nor anyone at the White House had asked Barr to take action, but some Republican lawmakers signed a letter recently asking him to intervene.
Trump signaled that he’s emboldened about his chances of a second term. “WE WILL WIN!” Trump tweeted this morning.
Trump has actually lost in both electoral college and popular vote.
Taken together, Democrats say the moves represent what could be an effort by the federal government to change the results of a U.S. election — something that would be unparalleled in the nation’s modern history.
Trump’s refusal to concede has also bogged down the legal transition process, leaving Biden to hold public events that emphasize his presidential posture.
Trump and his supporters have until Dec. 8 to complete any legal challenges.
That’s the so-called “safe harbor” day in order for a state’s electors to be automatically accepted by Congress.
Before Barr’s intervention, the Trump team’s legal push was sputtering.
Several lawsuits were thrown out in Pennsylvania, Nevada, Michigan, Arizona and Georgia — all states where Biden has a lead.
The public front-man for the effort has been Rudy Giuliani, the president’s personal attorney who railed against media organizations for projecting Biden as the winner over the weekend.
Meanwhile, Biden is forging ahead with forming his government in waiting.
He is expected to name a chief of staff as early as this week and plans to make additional policy announcements.
Today he addressed the need to protect the Affordable Care Act, the same day the Supreme Court heard arguments in a case that could gut the Obama administration’s signature health-care law.
“These ideologues are once again trying to strip health coverage away from millions of people,” he said of Republican lawmakers. He vowed to start in January to work with Congress to increase protections for coverage.
“We will not abandon you. That is a promise,” Biden said.