WASHINGTON—U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today released the following statement after reports that President Donald Trump has signed an executive order launching a commission to review voter integrity in the U.S. election system.
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“Just two days after the ouster of former-FBI Director James Comey and amid growing scrutiny and questions into the Trump campaign’s connection with Russia, President Trump is trying to divert attention from the ongoing FBI investigation by returning to his baseless allegations of millions of cases of voter fraud in the 2016 presidential election.
“I believe that the American people deserve an independent, nonpartisan investigation into the 2016 presidential election—one that scrutinizes President Trump’s unfounded accusations of widespread voter fraud, Republican efforts to suppress turnout with burdensome voting restrictions, and Russia’s interference in our election and reports of contact between the Trump campaign and the Russian government. However, based on the President’s comments and behavior and his choice of Kris Kobach—who has earned significant criticism and notoriety for his endless attempts to disenfranchise voters—as the vice chair, I do not trust this commission to examine voting issues in a thorough, legitimate manner. This commission appears to be designed to further undermine the public’s confidence in the credibility of our elections, and I strongly oppose this effort.”
President Trump has alleged, without evidence that three to five million people voted illegally in his 2016 presidential campaign against Secretary Clinton.
