Trump campaign distances itself from attorney Sidney Powell: Transition updates

The campaign now says she's not a member of the president's legal team.

President-elect Joe Biden is moving forward with transition plans, capping a tumultuous and tension-filled campaign during a historic pandemic against President Donald Trump, who still refuses to concede the election two weeks after Biden was projected as the winner and is taking extraordinary moves to challenge the results.

Running out of legal alternatives to override the election loss, Trump invited Michigan's top Republican state lawmakers to visit the White House on Friday, as he and allies pursue a pressure campaign to overturn results in a state Biden won by more than 150,000 votes.

Despite Trump's roadblocks and his administration refusing to recognize Biden as the president-elect, Biden is forging ahead as he prepares to announce key Cabinet positions.

Though Trump has alleged widespread voter fraud, he and his campaign haven't been able to provide the evidence to substantiate their claims and the majority of their lawsuits have already resulted in unfavorable outcomes.


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Milwaukee and Dane counties in Wisconsin officially start recount process

Milwaukee and Dane counties, two of the largest and the most Democratic-leaning counties in Wisconsin, began their recount process Friday, as requested by Trump’s campaign.

Both the Milwaukee County Board of Canvassers and the Dane County Board of Canvassers kicked off their respective meetings at 10 a.m. ET, but much of Friday is being used to prepare for the actual recount. The counties will livestream the entire 13-day process from multiple angles.

These two counties both voted overwhelmingly for Biden, with Dane County at 75.5%-22.8% and Milwaukee County 69.1%-29.3%. Milwaukee also has the state's largest Black population, and the campaign's targeting of voters for not supplying voter ID is likely to come down squarely on people of color, who are already the most disenfranchised by Wisconsin's voter ID laws.

he recount will take place in time for the state's Dec. 1 certification deadline.

Election officials don’t expect the recount to change the results as Biden leads Trump by more than 20,000 votes in the state.

-ABC News’ Cheyenne Haslett and Soo Rin Kim


Georgia secretary of state certifies election results, governor faces deadline to sign off

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger has certified the results of the general election Friday, making it official that Biden won the state's 16 electoral votes.

"The numbers reflect the verdict of the people, not a decision by the secretary of state's office or our courts, or of either campaigns," Raffensperger said during a Friday morning news conference.

Following the certification of the results, Republican Gov. Brian Kemp must now "certify the slates of presidential electors receiving the highest number of votes" by 5 p.m. Saturday. While the president has repeatedly tagged Kemp in tweets, including one that said, "Republicans must get tough," the governor has not given any indication he will not follow through with his part of this process.

With the certification, a two-business-day time period begins for Trump to request a recount, as he's expected to, since he remains within 0.5% of Biden.

ABC News asked Kemp's office Friday if the governor will definitely certify the electors by the deadline but has not received a response.

-ABC News' Quinn Scanlan


Michigan lawmakers meet with Trump at the White House

Michigan lawmakers have arrived at the White House and were spotted walking into the West Wing just a couple of minutes before 4 p.m.

Trump is meeting with at least two Republican leaders ahead of the state's board of canvassers meeting on Monday in an apparent effort to try to influence them to override certification of the state’s vote. This would set up the potential for the GOP-controlled legislature to choose its own slate of pro-Trump electors to vote for the president at the Electoral College's December meeting.

The prospect of the Michigan legislature intervening in a process that it is not involved in by state law is not one that has been publicly embraced in Lansing or on Capitol Hill.

Bob Bauer, a senior adviser to the Biden team, tore into the idea of Trump’s meeting earlier Friday, slamming it as “pathetic” and “an abuse of office,” but he maintained that "there's no way whatsoever" Trump will be successful in overturning the election.

Michigan House Speaker Lee Chatfield, who is among those meeting with Trump, tweeted earlier in the day he "won't apologize" for accepting a meeting with the president, adding that he's honored to speak with him.


Biden, Harris meet with Democratic leadership 

Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris are sitting down with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leaders Chuck Schumer at The Queen Theater in Wilmington, Delaware, for their first in-person meeting since the election.

Reporters were briefly allowed into the top of meeting where Biden could be heard telling Pelosi and Schumer about how his team has repurposed various buildings around Wilmington to hold meetings and conduct transition work. He also thanked them for making the trip.

"Thanks for having us,” Schumer could be heard saying in return, while Pelosi said it’s an “honor” to be with him.

Biden also referenced the frosty relationship both Pelosi and Schumer have had with the current occupant of the Oval Office.

"In my Oval Office, -- mi casa, you casa," Biden said. "I’m gonna need you. I hope we’re gonna spend a lot of time together."

All four wore masks and were socially distanced, seated at a large rectangular table.

Pelosi told reporters on Capitol Hill earlier in the day they would discuss the lame-duck session and urgency of passing another round of coronavirus relief legislation. She also left the door open for the House of Representatives to intervene in Biden's transition as the Trump administration blocks it, though she didn't elaborate on details.

-ABC News' John Verhovek, Molly Nagle and Beatrice Peterson


Chris Christie: It’s time for Trump election challenges to end

When ABC News Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos asked former New Jersey Governor and ABC News Contributor Chris Christie if it was time for Trump's challenges to the election results to end, he agreed.

"Yes. And here's the reason why the president has had an opportunity to access the courts," Christie said on ABC's "This Week" Sunday. "And I said to you -- you know, George, starting at 2:30 a.m. on Wednesday morning, if you've got the evidence of fraud, present it."

"What's happened here is quite frankly -- the conduct of the president's legal team has been a national embarrassment," he added.