US election: FBI failed to act on ‘poll fraud’, rages Donald Trump

Donald Trump says the FBI failed to investigate his allegations of a rigged election.

Donald Trump, with his grandchildren, Arabella, Theodore, and Joseph, arrives at the White House after a weekend at Camp David. Picture: AFP.

Donald Trump says the FBI failed to investigate his allegations of a rigged election as a further legal setback left him all but out of avenues to challenge Joe Biden’s victory.

In his first interview with Fox News since the election, Mr Trump rolled through a series of conspiracy theories to explain his defeat.

Asked if he believed that any of his cases would reach the Supreme Court in Washington, Mr Trump, speaking at Camp David, the presidential retreat, said: “The problem is it’s hard to get to the Supreme Court.”

The President claimed again that votes were systematically taken from him and added to Mr Biden’s tally. He said he was especially aggrieved that the career officials at the FBI and the Department of Justice had not supported his claims that the election was rigged.

“Missing in action,” he said. “I can’t tell you where they are. You would think if you were the FBI or the Department of Justice, this is the biggest thing you could be looking at. Where are they? I’ve not seen anything.”

The outburst might worry Christopher Wray, the FBI director. In the aftermath of the election Mr Trump sacked Mark Esper, the defence secretary, and most of his top team.

Mr Trump’s interview came after Pennsylvania’s top court overturned an order preventing the state from certifying some of its November 3 results because of claims of fraud.

The lawsuit, which sought to invalidate more than 2.5 million postal votes, was lodged by local Republican politicians. The day before, a federal appeals court had thrown out the Trump campaign’s attempt to block certification of Pennsylvania’s results. Mr Biden won the state by just under 82,000 votes.

The row might complicate the two Senate campaigns in Georgia, which could impose a check on Mr Biden’s ambitions as president. David Perdue, 70, a Republican incumbent, faced scandal when it emerged that the Department of Justice investigated him this year for possible insider trading before deciding not to pursue charges.

In an attempt to focus voters’ minds on more straightforward cultural questions, Mr Perdue criticised the dietary choice of Jon Ossoff, 33, his Democratic rival. Mr Ossoff marked “small business Saturday” with a stop at Slutty Vegan, a burger restaurant in Atlanta.

Mr Perdue posted a picture with his wife at Waffle House, a southern chain. He wrote: “Ossoff can have the plant burger, we’ll take the all-star special. Pick your side, Georgia.”

Mr Biden sprained his ankle while playing with his dog Major at the weekend. An X-ray showed no obvious fracture. The president-elect has also appointed an all-female White House communications team. As press secretary, Jen Psaki, 41, Barack Obama’s former communications director, will become one of the most prominent faces of the Biden administration. She is expected to resume the practice of daily briefings which stopped midway through Mr Trump’s presidency.

The Times