The Consequences Of Election Denialism

We know President Trump lost the election. What we don't know is what will happen between now and Inauguration Day if he refuses to accept the results.

In the short term, the Biden transition team cannot access certain government funds, use office space or receive classified intelligence briefings without official recognition of his victory from a government agency called the General Services Administration. NPR's Brian Naylor has reported on the delay.

At the Department of Justice, the top prosecutor in charge of election crimes, Richard Pilger, resigned from his position this week. A former DOJ colleague of Pilger's, Justin Levitt, tells NPR the department is enabling the president's baseless claims of widespread election fraud.

And Washington Post columnist David Ignatius explains what might be happening at the Department of Defense, where President Trump's election denialism has coincided with a number of high-level firings and a debate over the release of classified information.

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This episode was produced by Brianna Scott, Lee Hale and Brent Baughman. It was edited by Sami Yenigun with help from Wynne Davis and Arnie Seipel. Additional reporting from Brian Naylor. Our executive producer is Cara Tallo.