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'CORRUPT, VICIOUS WITCH HUNT AGAINST ME': Trump revives 2020 elections claims, targets Autopen, ‘Sleepy Joe’ in early morning rant

'CORRUPT, VICIOUS WITCH HUNT AGAINST ME': Trump revives 2020 elections claims, targets Autopen, ‘Sleepy Joe’ in early morning rant

Story highlights

World: Trump repeated familiar claims, alleging that the 2020 presidential election was rigged, blaming the January 6 committee, and attacking the use of a mechanical signature device known as the Autopen.

US President Donald Trump took to his social media platform Truth Social on Saturday (May 17) for an early morning rant after returning from a four-day tour of the Persian Gulf, where he visited Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.

Trump repeated familiar claims, alleging that the 2020 presidential election was rigged, blaming the January 6 committee, and attacking the use of a mechanical signature device known as the Autopen.

Trump suggests Autopen was part of a bigger plot

In his post, Trump questioned the use of the Autopen, a device used by presidents, including Joe Biden, to sign documents remotely.

“Whoever had control of the ‘AUTOPEN’ is looking to be a bigger and bigger scandal by the moment. It is a major part of the real crime, THAT THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION OF 2020 WAS RIGGED AND STOLEN! Millions and millions of people knew that, but the Radical Left Democrats waged a campaign of inoculation and innocence like none that had ever been waged before,” he wrote.

He then turned his attention to the January 6 committee, accusing them of destroying evidence.

“THIS IS WHY THE UNSELECT COMMITTEE OF POLITICAL THUGS, WHO WERE GIVEN A FULL AND COMPLETE PARDON BY THE PERSON WHO WIELDED THE NOW ILLEGALLY USED AUTOPEN, DELETED AND DESTROYED ALL EVIDENCE AND INFORMATION FROM THEIR CORRUPT AND VICIOUS WITCH HUNT AGAINST ME, AND MANY OTHER PEOPLE, WHOSE LIVES WERE COMPLETELY SHATTERED AND DESTROYED BY THIS HISTORICALLY CRIMINAL EVENT.”

Election fraud claims once again at the centre

Trump ended his post by reviving his past allegations that Barack Obama, James Comey, and Joe Biden were part of a conspiracy against him.

“Remember, it all began with DIRTY COP James Comey, Obama, a hapless and cognitively impaired Sleepy Joe Biden, and my now very famous ACCUSATION that, ‘THEY SPIED ON MY CAMPAIGN!’ Whoever had control of the Autopen is just the beginning. The biggest crime of all is that THE 2020 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION WAS RIGGED! I (MAGA!) WON THE ELECTION BY MILLIONS OF VOTES, AND EVERYONE KNOWS IT. GOD BLESS AMERICA, FOR THE FIGHT HAS JUST BEGUN!!!”

What really happened on January 6, 2021?

On January 6, 2021, a violent mob stormed the US Capitol as lawmakers gathered to certify Joe Biden’s presidential win. Trump, who had been speaking nearby, told supporters to march to the Capitol. The FBI later classified the incident as an act of domestic terrorism.

The House of Representatives impeached Trump for incitement of insurrection, but the Senate acquitted him.

Investigations found no evidence of widespread voter fraud

Despite Trump’s repeated claims, the 2020 election has been examined by multiple courts and independent bodies, all of which found no significant voter fraud.

The use of absentee ballots during the pandemic was lawful, and Biden’s win was confirmed by the Electoral College and later certified by Congress.