Stephen Miller Opens Mouth About Voter Fraud, George Stephanopolos Shuts It For Him (TWEETS)

By now, you know that lying and dissembling is standard operating procedure for the Donald Trump administration. On Sunday, Trump’s senior policy adviser, Stephen Miller–best known for helping Steve Bannon write a raft of executive orders that Trump didn’t bother to read–tried to get in on the act. He tried to argue that his boss lost at least one swing state because of voter fraud.

But there was one problem. Apparently Miller thought he was on “Fox & Friends.” But he was on a show where “alternative facts” are not accepted blindly–ABC’s “This Week.” And host George Stephanopolos made that loud and clear.

Near the tail end of their chat, Stephanopolos asked Miller about Trump’s rant from earlier this week that he only lost New Hampshire because the Hillary Clinton campaign brought in busloads of voters from Massachusetts. Watch what ensued here.

When Stephanopolos asked Miller for evidence of such fraud, Miller claimed that based on his past experience in New Hampshire politics, it was “widely known” that Granite State Democrats frequently call on their brethren to the south to bus voters in. But apparently he wasn’t willing to tell us what evidence he had to support it.

“This morning, on this show, is not the venue for me to lay out all the evidence. But I can tell you this–voter fraud is a serious problem in this country. You have millions of people who are registered in two states or who are dead who are registered to vote. And you have 14 percent of non-citizens, according to academic research, at a minimum, are registered to vote, which is an astonishing statistic.”

Stephanopolos was having none of it. He asked Miller to show him the money and disclose what evidence he had of voters being bused in across the state line. Miller suggested that Stephanopolos go to New Hampshire and talk to people in the know up there. He claimed that “anybody who’s worked in politics there for a long time” knows this is a common practice.

In an almost saintlike display of patience, Stephanopolos asked Miller, once again, to tell him and the nation what evidence supported Trump’s claim that Hillary stole New Hampshire from him. Once again, Miller gave a non-answer answer, saying that he was willing to discuss it “in the future.” In the meantime, Miller suggested that Stephanopolos talk to Kansas secretary of state Kris Kobach, who is one of many people who has supposedly “looked into this issue and found it to be true.”

Stephanopolos told Miller point-blank that he had “provided absolutely no evidence” to back up Trump’s claims of voter fraud. Miller then went into a tirade that would have made his boss proud. He claimed that the White House had provided “enormous evidence” of voter fraud–enough that we should “stop the presses” and turn the hot lights on it. It was also enough that he was prepared to “go on any show, anywhere, anytime” and maintain that Trump was “100 percent” right about it.

That was too much for Stephanopolos. While Miller tried to cut in, Stephanopolos let him have it.

“Well, you just repeated, though, you just made those declarations. But, for the record, you have provided zero evidence that the president was the victim of massive voter fraud in New Hampshire. You provided zero evidence that the president’s claim that he would have won the general — the popular vote if 3 million to 5 million illegal immigrants hadn’t voted, zero evidence for either one of those claims. Thanks a lot for joining us this morning.”

Miller tried to go on another Trumpian rant, claiming that Trump would leave no stone unturned to “protect our country from voter fraud.” Stephanopolos then dropped the mic, curtly telling Miller, “You can start by providing evidence to back up your claims. Thanks for joining us this morning.”

It turns out that Miller was peddling a claim that has been debunked several times over. Back in 2012, the Pew Center on the States found numerous problems with inaccurate voter registrations across the country, but could find no evidence of voter fraud. Additionally, Jesse Richman of Old Dominion University, whose research found 14 percent of voters in 2008 and 2010 were not citizens, cautions that there is no evidence noncitizen voting actually affects the outcome of elections.

Small wonder that the nation’s fact checkers have unanimously declared Miller’s interview was a steaming pile of lies. Politifact gave him a “Pants on Fire,” as it did when Trump himself made similar claims in November. The Washington Post gave Miller four Pinocchios.

And one of those New Hampshire politicos supposedly in the know, former state attorney general Tom Rath, let Miller have it on Twitter.

Incredibly, in the face of this smackdown, Trump publicly patted Miller on the back on Twitter.

So lying and dissembling on national television is a “great job” for Trump? If that’s the case, then mission accomplished.

(featured image courtesy Gage Skidmore, available under a Creative Commons BY-SA license)

Darrell is a 30-something graduate of the University of North Carolina who considers himself a journalist of the old school. An attempt to turn him into a member of the religious right in college only succeeded in turning him into the religious right's worst nightmare--a charismatic Christian who is an unapologetic liberal. His desire to stand up for those who have been scared into silence only increased when he survived an abusive three-year marriage. You may know him on Daily Kos as Christian Dem in NC. Follow him on Twitter @DarrellLucus or connect with him on Facebook. Click here to buy Darrell a Mello Yello.