A day after President Trump again said that he lost the popular vote in 2016 because millions voted illegally in the United States, the White House made clear that it had no interest in undertaking an investigation of that claim, offering no evidence to back up a charge that has been repeatedly made by Mr. Trump.
"The President does believe that; he has stated that before," said White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer, who repeatedly told reporters that the Trump Administration was not planning any investigation into the President's claim, as Spicer noted again and again that Mr. Trump had won in November.
"He believes what he believes based on the information he's provided," Spicer said, though Mr. Trump has never offered any concrete evidence to back up his allegation that some three to five million people voted illegally in 2016.
"There is no investigation," Spicer told reporters, though he acknowledged that "anything is possible" in the months ahead.
But on Capitol Hill, some prominent Republicans were not giving the President any backing on his voter fraud claim.
"I've already commented on that; I've seen no evidence of that, I've made that very, very clear," said House Speaker Paul Ryan.
"I am begging the President," Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said, "Share with us the information you have about this or please stop saying it."
Democrats also reacted skeptically again to President Trump's claim of illegal voting, saying there has been no evidence.
"When these falsehoods are told, our Republican colleagues have an obligation to reject them," said Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer.
"If the American President believes in a lie, that doesn't turn the lie into truth," said Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA).
"It's still a lie," he added.
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