Last Updated on May 31, 2022
U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL), who is hoping to beat McConnell ally Katie Britt to secure his state’s GOP Senate nomination, pushed back against Sandra Smith of Fox News after she claimed there was “no evidence” of fraud in the 2020 election.
On the topic of 2020 and election integrity as a whole, Smith first asked Mo Brooks why Trump decided to rescind his endorsement. The Congressman said that it was a matter of him not backing an effort to get Trump reinstated, adding that there is no legal remedy to do so.
Brooks did add that Trump was “robbed” in 2020 and stated his belief that the election was stolen.
“He was robbed in my judgement in 2020, in his judgement he was robbed, so I can understand that desire,” Brooks said. “The conflict was, when I would explain, the law does not permit us to do that. Our one shot to reverse the election, our one shot in an election contest, under the U.S. Constitution and federal law, is on January 6. That’s it, that’s the final appeal date.”
Brooks voted not to certify the 2020 election on January 6, 2021, joining 125 Republican representatives.
“Just to go on the record there has been still no evidence or proof provided that there was any sort of fraud-,” Smith began to say before Brooks immediately interjected.
“Well no, that’s wrong. I don’t know why you people in the media keep saying that but that is absolutely false, that is absolutely false. You keep saying it every time but that is absolutely false!” Brooks exclaimed.
“You had 150 congressman and Senators who absolutely disagreed with you on what you just said. So what are you calling them?” Mo Brooks asked. “What are you calling them when you say 150 Republican Senators and Congressmen looked at the voter fraud issue and said there was a major problem?”
He went on to cite a bipartisan election integrity commission from 2005 that identified “systemic flaws” in America’s election system and “warned us that elections are gonna be stolen if we don’t fix these problems, and these problems were not fixed.”
“So I don’t know who’s telling you there’s no evidence but that tells me you haven’t done your homework,” Brooks continued.
Smith claimed that “the courts and the judges” have decided that no election fraud took place in 2020.
“Wait a minute no, I’m getting in the last word on this one because you just made a false statement, ok?” Brooks fired back.
“The courts are not the final arbiter of who wins federal election contests, Congress is! That is required by the United States Constitution, that is required by the United States code, for Congressmen, Senators and the President,” Brooks continued. “So don’t be surprised that courts don’t usurp the power that is authorized to the United States Congress.
The Fox News host then quoted a Wisconsin GOP official who said there was no evidence of election fraud and urged the party to move on from “conspiracy theories” surrounding the 2020 election.
“Look at the judge’s opinion in Pennsylvania that talked about over 2 million illegal ballots cast, that was their court order,” Brooks continued. Smith then attempted to pivot to Nancy Pelosi’s partisan January 6 committee by asking if Brooks had been subpoenaed.
“Look at the special investigation of a former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice who found significant voter fraud at nursing homes in the state of Wisconsin,” Brooks said, refusing to let Smith’s “no evidence” claim stand.
“Look at the 2,000 mules documentary that has come out, look at how many mail-in ballots there were across the United States for which we have no security,” Brooks continued.
“OK uhm, and that has been looked at and fact checked by multiple outlets, including Reuters, who have debunked that as any sort of proof that there was widespread voter fraud,” Sandra Smith shot back in an attempt to have the final word.
“I’m sorry but other people have fact checked it and find you absolutely wrong Sandra, but keep going with that story if you wish,” Brooks concluded on the issue of election integrity.
Smith then moved on to the January 6 committee, which Brooks dubbed “the witch hunt committee.”
