Former GOP-Appointed Federal Prosecutors Blast Trump's 'Reckless' Vote Fraud Comments

More than a dozen former Republican-appointed top federal prosecutors called out President Donald Trump for making “premature, baseless, and reckless comments” about voter fraud as he appears on the verge of a loss to Democrat Joe Biden.

As Biden has crept steadily closer to winning the electoral votes needed to secure the presidency, Trump has been making broad, unsubstantiated claims of mass voter fraud.

In remarks Wednesday night at the White House, Trump falsely claimed that the election had been marked by “historical interference from big media, big money and big tech.”

He accused Democrats of “trying to steal” and “rig” the election, adding, “They’re trying obviously to commit fraud.” He offered no evidence to back up those claims, nor has any surfaced from state election officials, law enforcement officials or other reliable sources.

More broadly, Republicans have been making claims about voter fraud for years, though GOP-appointed prosecutors haven’t been able to substantiate such efforts.

In their letter, 19 former U.S. Attorneys appointed by various Republican presidents write they are “inspired by the overwhelming voter turn-out in virtually every state and territory in our nation, despite the very real challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic,” as well as “impressed by the efforts of governors, state legislators, and election officials from around the country to create the electoral infrastructure necessary to accommodate every eligible citizen’s right to vote notwithstanding these unprecedented challenges.”

They said they “feel compelled to speak out” against Trump’s voter fraud comments, which they said posed a threat to the American electoral process.

“Unfounded allegations of fraud and threats to initiate litigation aimed at stopping the vote count are clearly inappropriate and have the potential to undermine the rule of law as it applies to our electoral process,” they write. “Moreover, for any candidate, let alone the president of the United States, to claim victory, without justification, before each and every vote is counted is imprudent and irresponsible.”

“Therefore, we hereby call upon the president to patiently and respectfully allow the lawful vote-counting process to continue, in accordance with applicable federal and state laws, and to avoid any further comments or other actions which can serve only to undermine our democracy,” they write.

“As a nation, we are now in the midst of one of the most fundamental and important aspects of our constitutional democracy ― the electoral process,” they write. “Whether it takes days, or even weeks, for that process to conclude, it must be allowed to take place in a way that is open, fair, and lawful, and without any improper political interference. The whole world is watching, and our very legitimacy as a nation of laws, not men, depends on getting this right.”

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This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.