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♪♪

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>> Announcer: This is CNN

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breaking news.

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>> Welcome to "The lead."

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I'm Jake tapper.

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>>> Breaking news today.

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President-Elect Joe Biden this

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afternoon, says outgoing

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president trump's refusal to

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concede the election is, quote,

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an embarrassment.

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Biden said he is moving with or

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without trump as health and the

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Republican senate is mildly

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intimidated by trump's top

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allies are enabling president

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trump's denial of the reality.

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President-Elect Biden took calls

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today from the leaders of

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Germany, France, Ireland, and

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the uk but the calls were not

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patched through the U.S. State

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department as traditionally

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would happen because the trump

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administration is still refusing

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to allow the transition process

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to begin.

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This is not necessarily just a

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matter of letting the

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president's legal remedies play

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out in courts.

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Some members of the trump

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administration are signaling

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that they are unwilling to

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accept the results of the

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democratic process.

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It can be, frankly, chilling to

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hear.

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Take secretary of state Mike

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Pompeo this afternoon.

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>> Is the state department

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currently preparing to engage

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with the Biden transition team?

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And, if not, at what point does

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it delay a hamper a smooth

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transition or pose a risk to

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national security?

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>> There will be a smooth

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transition to a second trump

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administration.

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>> A smooth transition to a

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second trump administration.

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That is madness.

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And, at the same time, secretary

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Pompeo was saying that, vice

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president Mike pence was on

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capitol hill detailing all of

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the trump lawsuits and supposed

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voter fraud at the GOP senate

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lunch.

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The white house is also now

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currently firing top officials

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at the Pentagon and replacing

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them with fierce loyalists and

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most Republican officials in

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Washington are going along with

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this.

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Here is senator Ron Johnson, the

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chairman of the senate homeland

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security committee.

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>> Senator, have you

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congratulated vice president

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Biden yet?

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>> No.

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>> Reporter: Why not?

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>> Nothing to congratulate him

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about.

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>> There is nothing to

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congratulate him about, Johnson

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says.

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Senator Roy blunt, a member of

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senate public leadership said

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today that president trump,

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quote, may not have been

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defeated at all, unquote.

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Let's be clear.

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President trump was defeated.

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He lost substantially in the

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peculiar vote and substantially

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in the electoral college.

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Now, yes, we are all waiting for

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the counts to be officially

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completed and the results to be

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certified by the states as

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happens every four years.

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But this thing is done.

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Democratic senator Chris coon

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said they are privatelily asking

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them to pass on congratulations

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to Biden because they cannot do

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so publicly.

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This is not cowardly but

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dangerous.

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I've talked to Republican

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officials on both ends of

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Pennsylvania avenue and what

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they say is no one out there

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should worry that our democracy

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is in actual jeopardy.

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They say this is all part of

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walking president trump through

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this process emotionally and

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that they assume that while he

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may never concede, he will

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leave.

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There will be, they say, a

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peaceful transition of power to

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the biden/harris administration

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on January 20th.

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They say that.

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But they say it on background

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because they don't want to upset

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president trump and they don't

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want to get death threats from

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his supporters.

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Now you may or may not find that

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reassuring.

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Either way, secretary Pompeo and

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senators Johnson and blunt and

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others enabling this fiction

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that the president may have won

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the election, they are

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continuing to put their loyalty

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to president trump ahead of

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their loyalty to the united

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States of America and to the

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American people who deserve the