After months of former President Donald Trump's lies that widespread election fraud coordinated by Democrats delivered President Joe Biden a false victory, Congress held a traditional joint session to nationally certify the 2020 election.
As history will remember, the proceedings were upended when a mob of pro-Trump extremists stormed the United States Capitol, endangering the lives of lawmakers and resulting in the deaths of at least five people.
Even after the deadly chaos ended and Congress returned to continue the certification, a number of Republican Representatives and Senators continued to amplify the very lies that led to the violence by objecting to the electoral votes in a number of swing states Trump lost.
Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY) was one such representative, objecting to the certified electoral votes of Arizona and Pennsylvania.
The GOP's effort to overturn the election and deliver a victory to Trump failed, and now these lawmakers are facing scrutiny for their role in validating election lies in the joint session.
In an interview with Malliotakis, CNN's Erin Burnett took her to task for her opposition to the people's vote.
Watch below.
Burnett asked if Malliotakis felt she'd "bought into a narrative" that was completely false, such as lies that thousands of dead people voted in Georgia, which went blue for the first time since 1992 this year.
Malliotakis responded by invoking "tens of millions of Americans" who were "concerned" about American election integrity.
Burnett countered:
"But they're concerned because of lies like that. That is a lie. They heard that, if I heard that and believed it, I might be concerned too, but it's not true."
The Congresswoman attempted to backtrack, saying that concerns brought upon by the lies regarding election conspiracy, which she amplified, were cause for a "hearing" on the subject.
Burnett responded:
"Again, I just want to make sure you are clear there was no widespread fraud. There is no question about what happened in this election. That is very different than saying, 'we want to make sure that every vote counts that should count and every vote that shouldn't, shouldn't."'
Malliotakis attempted to defend her actions:
"I've never said anything about widespread fraud, I've said that there have been certain irregularities that need to be looked at closer and that the American people deserve to know if that took place in this election and it appears that it did in certain states, and that is all we're asking for and I think that's very fair."
Burnett once again reiterated that millions of Americans think the election wasn't fair due to lies from Donald Trump and his allies in Congress.
Malliotakis' appearance on CNN didn't do much for her case.
People praised Burnett for her tough questioning.
The House has since impeached Trump for the violence at the Capitol, charging him with incitement of an insurrection.
@realDonaldTrump/Truth Social
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