Raskin didn't say, 'We won't be certifying the election' for Trump | Fact check

The claim: Jamie Raskin said, 'We won't be certifying the election' if Trump defeats Harris

A Nov. 5 Threads post (direct link, archive link) shares a supposed quote from Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland about the presidential race between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.

"BREAKING: Jamie Raskin said, 'Let folks cast their votes for Trump if that’s their choice. But mark my words, we won’t be certifying the election. He might win, but we’ll ensure he doesn’t step foot in the Oval Office,'" the post reads.

It continues, "Tell me again which party is seeking to destroy democracy and install an unelected candidate?"

The post was liked more than 500 times in a day. A similar post on X, formerly Twitter, was reposted more than 13,000 times.

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Our rating: False

Raskin didn't say this. He said the quote is a fabrication, and there are no reputable news reports about the congressman making the remarks.

Winner of presidential election will be certified, Raskin says

Raskin was the lead House manager in the second impeachment trial of Trump, who was charged with "incitement of insurrection" in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. The Senate acquitted Trump.

The congressman was also a member of the Jan. 6 select committee tasked with investigating the attack.

But there’s no credible evidence Raskin made the remarks attributed to him in the Threads post.

Raskin called the quote "fictional" and "100% fabricated" in a Nov. 5 post on X.

"It's one more lie in the stream of right-wing lies designed to undermine our election," Raskin said in the post. "Despite this actionable libel and all the disinformation, America is having a free and fair election and Congress will certify the winner."

There were also no reports from reputable news organizations about Raskin saying anything about Congress not certifying a Trump victory in the Nov. 5 election.

The Associated Press called the race for Trump on Nov. 6.

Fact check: Supposed Ohio misprint of Trump may be hoax, wouldn't affect vote tally

Still, Raskin hasn't been quiet about Trump’s most recent candidacy.

In February, amid a legal battle at the Supreme Court over Trump's eligibility to seek another term in the White House, Raskin envisioned a scenario in which Congress stepped in to block a Trump election victory under the insurrection clause of the 14th Amendment.

"They want to kick it to Congress, so it's going to be up to us on January 6, 2025, to tell the rampaging Trump mobs that he's disqualified," Raskin said during a Feb. 17 book talk, referring to the day Congress is scheduled to count the electoral votes.

Raskin, the ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, later told Axios that if Trump "won a free, fair and honest election, then we would obviously accept it." And he told the Daily Beast in a Nov. 5 article that House Democrats "will not go along with any fraud. We’re going to stand up for a fair and honest election, as we always have."

USA TODAY reached out to the Threads user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

PolitiFact, Lead Stories and Check Your Fact also debunked the claim.

Our fact-check sources:

• Jamie Raskin, Nov. 5, X post

• Politics and Prose (YouTube), Feb. 17, Rick Hasen – A Real Right to Vote – with Representative Jamie Raskin and Sherrilyn Ifill

• Axios, Oct. 10, Scoop: Some top Dems won't commit to certifying a Trump win

• The Daily Beast, Nov. 5, Raskin: How House Democrats Will Fight Trump ‘Election Fraud’

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Raskin quote about not certifying Trump win is fabricated | Fact check