White House Claims Trump Has 'Evidence' Millions Voted Illegally In Election
WASHINGTON (CBS) -- The White House claims that President Donald Trump has "evidence" that millions of people vote illegally in the presidential election, but would not provide proof of those claims which have previously been debunked.
White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer was grilled Tuesday after President Donald Trump told a bipartisan group of congressional leaders at a small reception at the White House on Monday that 3 to 5 million illegal ballots cost him the popular vote.
Trump made a similar claim following the election in November when he tweeted he would have "won the popular vote if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally."
"The president does believe that. He has stated that before," Spicer told reporters when questioned about Trump's comments. "I think he has stated his concerns of voter fraud and people voting illegally during the campaign. And he continues to maintain that belief based on studies and evidence that people presented to him."
Spicer cited a 2008 Pew study to back the claim millions voted illegally, but that study found no evidence of voter fraud.
"We found millions of out of date registration records due to people moving or dying, but found no evidence that voter fraud resulted," David Becker, the author of the Pew study, previously tweeted.
There has not been any evidence that millions of people voted illegally in the 2016 presidential election.
Despite Trump's latest comments, Spicer said the new president is "very comfortable with his win."
When asked about if there will be an investigation into these claims of illegal votes, Spicer said, "Maybe we will."
"We'll see where we go from here," Spicer said.
House Speaker Paul Ryan told CBS News on Tuesday that he has seen "no evidence" to back the president's claims.
"I've seen no evidence to that effect," Ryan said. "I've made that very, very clear."
Hillary Clinton garnered nearly 3 million more votes nationally than Trump – 65.8 million to his 62.9 million.
