By Jasper Ward and Kanishka Singh
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Republican former U.S. President Donald Trump, who faces federal and state charges accusing him of trying to overturn his 2020 election loss to Democratic President Joe Biden, insists he had “every right” to interfere in that election.
“Whoever heard you get indicted for interfering with a presidential election where you have every right to do it?” Trump said in a Fox News interview that aired on Sunday.
A federal indictment accuses Trump of defrauding the U.S. by attempting to prevent Congress from certifying Biden’s victory and deprive voters of their right to a fair election. He faced a revised federal indictment last month accusing him of illegally trying to overturn his 2020 election loss.
Trump’s supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in an unsuccessful attempt to prevent Congress from certifying the 2020 election results after weeks of false claims by Trump that he had won.
Trump faces similar charges in Fulton County, Georgia, where he was also charged with racketeering, which is used to target members of organized crime groups and carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison.
That case, which is on hold while a state appeals court weighs the district attorney’s role, stems from a Jan. 2, 2021, phone call in which Trump urged Georgia’s top election official, Brad Raffensperger, to “find” enough votes to reverse his narrow loss in the state. Raffensperger declined to do so.
Trump, who is the current Republican candidate for president, has not said whether he would unconditionally accept the results of the Nov. 5 election if his Democratic rival, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, wins.
In a statement on Monday, Harris’ campaign said Trump’s latest comments to Fox News and his previous remarks “make it clear that he believes he is above the law.”
“Now, Trump is claiming he had ‘every right’ to interfere in the 2020 election. He did not,” a Harris campaign spokesperson said in the statement.
(Reporting by Jasper Ward and Kanishka Singh; Editing by Ross Colvin, Mark Porter and Sandra Maler)
