Outgoing Republican Congressman Denver Riggleman offered strident criticism of President Donald Trump and other GOP officials regarding their behavior in the wake of the 2020 general election over the weekend. In a wide-sweeping interview with Forbes , the representative for Virginia’s fifth congressional district referred to his party’s accusations of electoral fraud as a “massive grift” while further taking aim at those responsible for delaying President-elect Joe Biden’s transition.
Per Riggleman — who is one of just a handful of GOP representatives to publicly acknowledge Biden’s victory — many Republicans are going along with Trump’s campaign to overturn the results of the November 3 election out of fear that the president could harm their careers if they spoke out. He also referred to the GOP’s refusal to accept the results that saw the former vice-president claim 306 electoral votes “money-making for the 2024 election” and “completely unethical.”
“They’re worried about committee assignments, they’re worried about the team,” Riggleman opined of those who have remained loyal to the commander-in-chief. “The career is more important than the facts, it’s that simple.”
During a Friday interview with Newsmax , the Trump campaign’s chief legal representative, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, insisted that there is evidence supporting the notion that widespread voter fraud acted in Biden’s favor. However, his effort to turn the result in the president’s favor has resulted in no less than 35 court cases being lost or thrown out.
Nevertheless, Giuliani insisted that his team would continue to lobby state legislatures in key battlegrounds to override the will of the voters and send pro-Trump electors to the Electoral College.
For his part, Riggleman questioned the intelligence of conservatives that are buying into the Trump team’s allegations and legal wrangling.
“[It] really speaks to where your intelligence level is… to believe in that type of operation.”
The congressman also gave harsh words for General Services Administration (GSA) Administrator Emily Murphy for single-handedly delaying the president-elect’s transition for weeks by refusing to sign a letter authorizing access to federal agencies and transition funds.
“She should’ve done this well before she did it” he said, crediting a “fear of losing your tribe” for the delay.
“I’m so damn sick of it. I’m sick of it,” he added.
According to Riggleman, there are others that share his opinions. He told Forbes that he’s personally spoken to 30 to 40 Republican members of Congress who privately acknowledge Trump’s loss despite their public silence.
In any case, the 50-year-old won’t be serving a second term after he ran afoul of party officials in his state for officiating a same-sex wedding, per ABC News . He subsequently lost his primary to Bob Good, who went on to become the district’s representative-elect.
