Forty Electoral College Members Now Calling for Intelligence Briefing Before They Vote

Thirty additional members of the Electoral College signed their names to a letter Tuesday demanding an intelligence briefing prior to casting their votes for president Dec. 19.

Forty electors have now signed the letter, all of them Democrats with the exception of one Republican, according to The Hill.

As reported by Western Journalism, a group of 10 electors requested more information Monday about the ongoing investigation regarding what influence the Russians may have had in the presidential election.

In an open letter addressed to Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, the electors stated they would need additional details before meeting Dec. 19 to formally vote for the country’s next president.

Christine Pelosi, the daughter of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, is one of the electors leading the effort.

The letter reads, in part: “The Electors require to know from the intelligence community whether there are ongoing investigations into ties between Donald Trump, his campaign or associates, and Russian government interference in the election, the scope of those investigations, how far those investigations may have reached, and who was involved in those investigations.”

“We further require a briefing on all investigative findings, as these matters directly impact the core factors in our deliberations of whether Mr. Trump is fit to serve as President of the United States,” the letter continues.

It concludes, “Additionally, the Electors will separately require from Donald Trump conclusive evidence that he and his staff and advisors did not accept Russian interference, or otherwise collaborate during the campaign, and conclusive disavowal and repudiation of such collaboration and interference going forward.”

The campaign of Democrat Hillary Clinton is backing the effort by the electors.

On Fox News Sunday, President-elect Trump was asked about a Washington Post story Friday headlined, “Secret CIA Assessment Says Russia Was Trying To Help Trump Win White House.”

“I think it’s ridiculous. I think it’s just another excuse. I don’t believe it. I don’t know why, and I think it’s just — you know, they talked about all sorts of things. Every week, it’s another excuse,” he replied.

“So, why would the CIA put out this story that the Russians wanted you to win?” host Chris Wallace followed up.

“I’m not sure they put it out. I think the Democrats are putting it out because they suffered one of the greatest defeats in the history of politics in this country. And, frankly, I think they’re putting it out. It’s ridiculous,” the president-elect responded.

During the race, the Clinton campaign and fellow Democrats blamed the Russians for being behind the hack of the Democratic National Committee that resulted in embarrassing emails being released by WikiLeaks.

Since the election, the Clinton team has supported Green Party Candidate Jill Stein’s recount efforts in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan, despite the former secretary of state’s having described any attempts to undermine or not accept the election results as “horrifying” during a presidential debate in October.

“That is not the way our Democracy works,” Clinton said. “We have been around for 240 years. We’ve had free and fair elections. We’ve accepted the outcome when we may not have liked them and that is what must be expected. … [Trump] is talking down our democracy, and I, for one, am appalled that someone who is the nominee of one of our two major parties would take that kind of position.”

Additionally, the Democrat nominee has pointed to “fake news” and FBI Director James Comey as reasons Trump won the election. (For more from the author of “Forty Electoral College Members Now Calling for Intelligence Briefing Before They Vote” please click HERE)

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