Trump-Biden transition live updates: Ga. secretary of state defends official blasting Trump

Bet_Noire/iStockBy LIBBY CATHEY, ABC News

(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump is slated to hand over control of the White House to President-elect Joe Biden in 49 days.

Here is how the transition is unfolding. All times Eastern.

Dec 02, 11:30 am
Georgia secretary of state backs election official who slammed Trump’s rhetoric

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger at the State Capitol in Atlanta defended Gabriel Sterling’s impassioned and angered plea to Trump Tuesday and said while he may not have used the same language, he was aware of what Sterling was going to say and that he had the “full support” of the secretary and his office.

“He spoke with passion, and he spoke the truth, and it’s about time that more people are out there speaking the truth,” Raffensperger said.

Sterling, the state’s voting system implementation manager, on Tuesday slammed Trump and GOP Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Purdue for what he deemed their silence on failing to condemn harassment and death threats against election workers amid rampant and largely unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud as the state continues a third count of the presidential vote.

Sterling called on Trump to “step up” and say, “Stop inspiring people to commit potential acts of violence,” adding, “Someone’s gonna get hurt. Someone’s gonna get shot. Someone’s gonna get killed.”

“All of you who’ve not said a damn word are complicit in this,” he said, detailing death threats one Georgia election worker has faced.

A more mild-mannered Raffenspeger also chastised Trump Wednesday for how he responded on Twitter to Sterling’s pleas for him to condemn violence.

“Even after this office request that President Trump trying to quell the violent rhetoric, being born out of his continuing claims of winning the states where he obviously lost, he tweeted out, ‘Expose the massive voter fraud in Georgia.’ This is exactly the kind of language that is at the base of the growing threat environment for election workers who are simply doing their jobs,” Raffensperger said.

-ABC News’ Quinn Scanlan

Dec 02, 10:49 am
Overview: Biden meets with small business owners, Trump teases 2024 run

After debuting his nominees to lead economic policy posts in the incoming administration Tuesday, Biden is slated to participate in a virtual roundtable with workers and small business owners affected by the coronavirus pandemic and economic crisis in Wilmington, Delaware, Wednesday afternoon.

For the third day he and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris will also receive the President’s Daily Brief, following a 16-day standoff with the Trump administration holding up federally-allocated resources to aid in the transition.

Although Trump still publicly refuses to concede the loss — vowing to press forward with legal battles despite a string of losses — at a White House holiday party Tuesday night, he acknowledged his potential departure from the White House by teasing running again in 2024.

“It’s been an amazing four years. We are trying to do another four years. Otherwise, I’ll see you in four years,” the president can be heard saying on video of the event reviewed by ABC News. Multiple sources also confirmed to ABC News that the president made the remarks.

In advance of Trump leaving office, sources tell ABC News the president is considering doling out preemptive pardons to members of his inner circle. Names for consideration include the president’s three oldest children, his personal attorney Rudy Giuliani — who has denied asking for one — and son-in-law Jared Kushner.

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