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McCarthy: "I don't think anybody is questioning the legitimacy of the presidential election"

12 May 2021
 Dan Ackermann

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) was asked Wednesday whether he was concerned about elevating Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) to GOP leadership after she has promoted baseless claims about the election. He responded: "I don't think anybody is questioning the legitimacy of the presidential election."

Why it matters: Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) was ousted as House GOP conference chair earlier Wednesday — in a vote that McCarthy supported — over her continued criticisms of former President Trump and his lies about election fraud.

Driving the news: Just 48 hours earlier, Trump said in a statement, "The major Michigan Election Fraud case has just filed a bombshell pleading claiming votes were intentionally switched from President Trump to Joe Biden."

  • "The number of votes is MASSIVE and determinative," the former president falsely claimed. "This will prove true in numerous other States. All Republicans must UNIFY and not let this happen."
  • Stefanik, a Trump ally who is the only candidate running to replace Cheney, objected to the certification of Biden's Electoral College win and continues to believe that there are "serious concerns about the election that have not been addressed," a spokesperson told the Washington Post.

Reality check: Trump's own Justice Department has said there is no evidence of substantial election fraud that would overturn the results of the election. Dozens of courts throughout the country have tossed out election fraud lawsuits backed by Trump and his allies.

Driving the news: “First of all the conference will decide," McCarthy said when asked about Stefanik. "But I don’t think anybody is questioning the legitimacy of the presidential election. I think that is all over with. We’re sitting here with the president today. So from that point of view, I don't think that's a problem."

Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times

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Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.

Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.

The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.

  • The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.

What the transcripts say:

  • Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
  • The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
  • Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."

Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.