Today when asked at what point the administration’s transition delays could hamper national security, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said, “There will be a smooth transition to a second Trump administration.” And then smirked. And what could be a better gag than the shameless lying that damages the country, our reputation abroad, and democracy? This adds to William Barr’s hilarious move: “The nation’s attorney general and a Trump ally, on Monday wrote a memo authorizing federal prosecutors to pursue any ‘substantial allegations of voting and vote tabulation irregularities.'” Get it? Well, Richard Pilger didn’t. The “head of the DOJ’s election crimes branch, stepped down from that role in protest over Barr’s memo. He announced the departure to colleagues Monday evening.” And McConnell, the grand wizard of the Coup Clutz Clan, is in on it too. Here’s a sampling of leaders who have not yet congratulated Biden on his win: Putin, Kim Jong Un, Erdogan, Bolsonaro, McConnell. (Oh wait, Erdogan just did.) You’d be accurate in making the point that McConnell wants to use this delay to rile up the base in Georgia to make sure turnout is high for the Senate runoffs that will determine the only thing he cares about: His power. You can connect the defiance to efforts by the Trump campaign team to raise money to pay off campaign debts and position their deranged boss for four years of Twittering followed by a run in 2024. And you can safely assume that on January 20th, Joe Biden will be giving his inauguration speech. But this wanton attack on America’s core democratic value, the sacredness of our vote, is doing long lasting damage inside the country (70% of Republicans say election wasn’t ‘free and fair’ despite no evidence of fraud), and maybe irreversible damage to our leadership role in the world. So laugh it up.

+ Atlanta Journal Constitution: Citing no evidence, Georgia’s U.S. senators demand elections head resign. (The elections head in Georgia is a Republican. It’s all a show.)

+ “There was Big Tobacco. There was the Bin Laden family. There was even the hated owner of the Cleveland Browns football team as he moved the franchise to Baltimore. Now Jones Day is the most prominent firm representing President Trump and the Republican Party as they prepare to wage a legal war challenging the results of the election. The work is intensifying concerns inside the firm about the propriety and wisdom of working for Mr. Trump, according to lawyers at the firm.” Ooh, concerns. Call me when someone quits or takes a stand beyond telling the NYT there are concerns. There are concerns about the friggin republic.

+ Dan Pfeiffer: McConnell et al backing Trump’s absurd election claims is about something much bigger than sensitivity to a bruised ego. “Trump contesting the results and making himself feel better with fever dreams of imaginary fraud was to be expected and can be discounted as the natural result of a sad, insecure loser. But the response to Trump’s loss by the rest of the Republican party is very notable — and frankly, quite concerning.”