The 2020 election lies continue to unravel as courts press for evidence

More than three years after a whirlwind of conspiracy theories that the 2020 election was stolen culminated in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, the originators of many of the false allegations are now being forced to admit — some under oath — that is no evidence to support their bizarre claims.

Lawyers from the conservative group True the Vote spoke on Wednesday admitted to a state court in Georgia that they had no evidence to support their claim of illegal “ballot trafficking” in the state during the 2020 election and the 2021 Senate runoff.

And earlier this month, former Project Veritas leader James O'Keefe said: issued a statement after one of his sources recanted his story about fraud in Erie, Pa. “I am aware of no evidence or other allegation that election fraud occurred at the Erie Post Office during the 2020 presidential election,” Mr. O’Keefe said.

The recordings are known. Nor could the conspirators of many other false theories about the 2020 election when forced to provide evidence that would hold up in court.

In the days immediately following the 2020 election, Rudolph W. Giuliani, then a lawyer for Mr. Trump, claimed that the election was “an absolute fraud.” Days later, under questioning by a Pennsylvania judge, he admitted: “This is not a fraud case.” Last year, Mr. Giuliani admitted that public comments he made saying two election workers in Georgia had committed voter fraud were false.

The untruths have had consequences. Former President Donald J. Trump and 19 of his allies were indicted on multiple charges over their efforts to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia. Fox News agreed to pay $787.5 million to settle defamation claims over the network's promotion of misinformation about Dominion election machines during the 2020 election. Mr. Giuliani was ordered to pay $148 million in damages to the two election workers.

Mr. Giuliani was among several election deniers who privately admitted that evidence was lacking.

“We have a lot of theories,” he told the leader of the Arizona Legislature after the 2020 election, according to Jan. 6 committee testimony. “We just don't have the evidence.”

True the Vote's admission that it did not have any evidence of ballot trafficking further undermined the claims that formed the basis for the debunked voter fraud film “2,000 Mules.” The film, despite its false claims, reached a wide audience.

And while the false conspiracy theories continue to be dismissed, Trump continues to perpetuate the election lies in his campaign speeches and public appearances.

The mess of conspiracy theories about a stolen and rigged election has become dogma for a large faction of the conservative base, irreparably damaging their confidence in the nation's electoral system and creating an election denial movement that has overwhelmed large parts of the Republican Party apparatus .

In August, nearly 70 percent of Republican voters did not believe President Biden's 2020 victory was legitimate. from a CNN poll. An opinion poll was published in June Monmouth University found that 30 percent of Americans believe Biden won in 2020 only because of voter fraud.

The two polls were conducted after numerous conspiracy theories about the 2020 election were proven false by the courts, making it unlikely that further rejection of the 2020 falsehoods will have a major effect on the 2024 election.

That may be partly because voters in today's hyper-polarized climate are attracted to excuses for losses, such as cheating, said Matthew Germer, board director of the R Street Institute, a conservative organization. Another factor: these lies make money for the liars.

“Conspiracy theories are great for fundraising, but terrible for democracy,” Mr. Germer said. “And that again preys on our tendency to want to be on the winning side.”

He added: “I am optimistic that the more of these conspiracies crumble, it will undermine the credibility of those who peddle them.”

“People can only really take so much,” he said. “But I think the question remains where those limits are and how long this can last.”