GSA Administrator Emily Murphy, shown here at a 2018 congressional hearing, on Nov. 23 formally ascertained Joe Biden to be the apparent winner of the 2020 presidential election.
U.S. General Services Administration chief Emily Murphy informed President-elect Joe Biden on Monday that her agency has formally ascertained him as the apparent winner of the 2020 presidential election and would move ahead with transition proceedings.
The letter effectively ends a weeks-long standoff in which the Biden transition team accused Murphy and her agency of withholding critical transition resources needed for a smooth transfer of power. President Trump has yet to concede the 2020 election.
"Please know that
I came to my decision independently, based on the law and available facts," Murphy said in a letter to Biden. "
I was never directly or indirectly pressured by any Executive Branch official — including those who work at the White House or GSA — with regard to the substance or timing of my decision. To be clear,
I did not receive any direction to delay my determination."
The GSA and Murphy have faced intense bipartisan criticism in recent weeks over the decision to hold off on recognizing Biden as president-elect. The Biden transition team had threatened legal action, accusing the GSA of threatening national security and hampering preparations to combat the coronavirus pandemic by failing to provide support for the incoming administration.
Murphy said her decision was based on "recent developments involving legal challenges and certifications of election results." Earlier Monday, Michigan voted to certify its election results and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court threw out a Trump campaign challenge that sought to invalidate thousands of absentee ballots in Allegheny County.
In a series of tweets, President Trump thanked Murphy for her handling of the ascertainment process since Election Day. The president pledged to continue his legal challenge of election results.
"I want to thank Emily Murphy at GSA for her steadfast dedication and loyalty to our Country," Trump wrote on Twitter. "
She has been harassed, threatened, and abused - and I do not want to see this happen to her, her family, or employees of GSA. Our case STRONGLY continues, we will keep up the good fight, and I believe we will prevail!"
"Nevertheless, in the best interest of our Country,
I am recommending that Emily and her team do what needs to be done with regard to initial protocols, and have told my team to do the same," Trump added.
The Biden-Harris transition team said the GSA's move to ascertain Biden as president-elect would provide "the incoming administration with the resources and support necessary to carry out a smooth and peaceful transfer of power."
"This final decision is a definitive administrative action to formally begin the transition process with federal agencies," the Biden-Harris team said in a statement. "In the days ahead, transition officials will begin meeting with federal officials to discuss the pandemic response, have a full accounting of our national security interests, and gain complete understanding of the Trump administration's efforts to hollow out government agencies."
Inauguration Day is scheduled to take place on Jan. 20, 2021.
Comment: Here's the letter, which lists the types of threats Murphy has been receiving from unhinged Democrats:
Speaking of threats, the sole MI Board of Canvassers to vote against certification says he and his family received
death threats:
There were, according to his interview with Newsmax, "a whole string of anonymous calls threatening my family and me, and 20 to 30 protesters on my front lawn Saturday night." He said that overall, more than 40 phone calls and 7,000 emails were sent to him, calling on — and threatening — him to certify the result that favors Biden.
The campaign was "most likely orchestrated by the state Democratic Party and labor unions," he said. "The [threats] that mentioned my wife and children or said 'we know where you live' I turned over to the police."
The Pentagon will now
begin providing support for the transition, and Biden will receive briefings and funding.
But Trump is
not conceding. The election was clearly stolen, and he will not concede without his day in court.
But over in La La Land, where corrupt Democrats apparently don't cheat, the hallucinations are proceeding apace. CNN pundit Douglas Brinkley is fantasizing that Trump will form a "shadow government" come January.
Guys like Brinkley are either so inured in hysterical, conversive thinking that they cannot see reality, or are simply lying. No one with any sense thinks Biden won the election legitimately. But hey, TDS will do that to you.
He should have long ago learned to read SOTT Comments for advice.
R.C.