Networks call Georgia for Biden as security officials say vote was ‘secure’

Top DOJ election crimes lawyer hits out at Barr’s decision to probe ‘fraud’

The Department of Justice’s top lawyer investigation electoral crimes, Richard Pilger, has quit over his boss’s decision to involve the department in investigations of alleged electoral fraud.

Mr Pilger said William Barr’s new policy was “abrogating the forty-year-old non-intervention policy for ballot fraud investigations in the period prior to elections becoming certified and uncontested”.

Donald Trump’s campaign has filed several lawsuits claiming the election results were flawed. Judges have tossed out lawsuits in Michigan and Georgia, and experts say Trump's legal efforts have little chance of changing the election result.

The incumbent has refused to concede defeat and is busily spreading unfounded claims of widespread fraud, aided by figures throughout the Republican Party - including Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell.

Joe Biden’s campaign said Mr Barr was fuelling Mr Trump's far-fetched claims.

"Those are the very kind of claims that the president and his lawyers are making unsuccessfully every day, as their lawsuits are laughed out of one court after another," said Bob Bauer, a senior adviser.

Mr Trump’s administration is blocking the normal transition process. Pressure is mounting on the General Services Administration to allow the process to go ahead.

Japan hopes for closer working on climate with Biden administration

Japan’s environment minister says he expects a Biden administration to work more closely with Tokyo on climate change and other environmental problems.

"Japan's cooperation with the United States will be broadened not only in climate change under the Paris Agreement but also in environment as a whole," said Shinjiro Koizumi.

The country’s new prime minister, Yoshihide Suga, announced last month he aimed to cut greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050 and transition Japan to a carbon-neutral society.

What next for Pence? Vice president ‘heading to Florida on personal trip’ as Trump refuses to concede

Mike Pence, who spent months on the campaign trail alongside his boss Donald Trump right up to the small hours of the morning after election day, now seems ready to take some time off, writes Namita Singh.

Mr Pence has kept a low profile since the results began turning against the Republican, and will now be heading to the holiday island of Sanibel, Florida on a “personal trip”, according to the Associated Press.  

According to the Federal Aviation Administration, Mr Pence is expected to be in Florida until Saturday. His office has so far not issued any comments on his travel plans. 

Seoul expecting win over funding for US troop presence

South Korea expects it will achieve a deal on funding for the US military presence on its soil under the Biden administration.

Seoul had been in fraught and protracted negotiations with Donald Trump’s administration over funding for the 28,500 troops, as part of the president’s broader push for allies to contribute more to their defence.

Officials and experts in Seoul don't expect Biden to entirely drop the demand that South Korea pay more, but the president-elect has promised not to use the troop presence to "extort" his ally.

South Korean government sources told Reuters they anticipated Mr Biden would agree to a deal close to Seoul's proposal to pay 13 per cent more, or around $1bn (£758m) a year.

Mr Trump demanded much as $5bn.

Is the election actually over?

On Saturday, major media organisations projected that Joe Biden will become the next president of the US. The announcement prompted celebrations in the streets from Mr Biden's supporters and - for some - a collective sigh of relief that the five-day election had finally come to a close, writes Graig Graziosi.

While the marathon press coverage, constant Twitter refreshing, and frenzied mathematics of NBC’s Steve Kornacki may be finished, there is still a sizeable group of Americans who believe the election is far from over.

A ‘blitz’ to push through his agenda: Trump could wreak global havoc over the last 10 weeks of his rule

Analysis: Donald Trump is unshackled from domestic political considerations and enraged by what he and his adjutants have falsely described as a fraudulent election, write Bel Trew and Borzou Daragahi.

The administration of outgoing US president now appears set to inflict maximum damage on its perceived enemies and strive to do favours for its friends in the final weeks of its rule, worrying international observers who say his flailing final moves could inflict lasting harm.

Most of Mr Trump’s erratic and destructive potential moves during the final 10 weeks of his rule could  target the US,  with his venom directed primarily at senior officials he describes as “deep state” figures who he accuses of undermining his presidency. But even his attempts to sate domestic supporters and feed red meat to his vociferous hard-right base could have broader international implications.  

Trump RTs Breitbart ‘let’s roll’ tweet on Barr’s fraud probe plan

Somewhat undermining the attorney general’s insistence that his authorisation of probes into alleged electoral fraud is not political, Donald Trump has promoted a Breitbart tweet on the topic.

The right-wing website tweeted a link to its post on Mr Barr’s plans, along with the message: “Let’s roll.”

It was that message the president saw and retweeted.

Mr Trump has pushed baseless claims of electoral malfeasance for the past week, as election results eventually showed him losing to Joe Biden.

Mr Biden’s team has derided Mr Barr’s plans, saying they will merely encourage the president and his allies.

Mr Barr said the DOJ would investigate “substantial”, rather than “fanciful”, claims of fraud.

Nonetheless, his top electoral crimes lawyer quit at what he said was an abrogation of a decades-old policy of non-intervention in elections that have not been formally certified.

Mr Trump also tweeted a link direct to Breitbart’s website post about Mr Barr’s investigations.

International observers report ‘no serious irregularities’ in blow for Trump fraud claims

A team of international observers criticised Donald Trump late on Monday for his “baseless allegations of systemic deficiencies” in the US election, adding that they did not witness any serious instances of fraud or other voting irregularities, writes Namita Singh.

The report comes as a blow to Mr Trump, who has still refused to concede defeat days after the election result was projected in favour of his Democrat rival Joe Biden.  Instead, he has repeatedly claimed fraud in voting across several states.

Biden to give speech on Obamacare as Supreme Court set to hear GOP’s case

Joe Biden is to give an address extolling the virtues of the Affordable Care Act, his and Barack Obama’s signature legislation, today.

The Supreme Court is due to hear arguments on the legislation today in a case brought in Texas and backed by Donald Trump and other conservatives.

They seek to have the law's mandate to buy health insurance ruled unconstitutional because Congress has repealed the penalties for non-compliance.

Mr Trump has tried for years to dismantle Obamacare and insisted he has a comprehensive plan to replace it, which he does not.

The Supreme Court ruled eight years ago to leave the essential components of Obamacare intact, but is now controlled 6-3 by a conservative majority following the confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett.

Republican attorneys general in 18 states and the administration want the whole law to be struck down, which would threaten coverage for more than 23 million people.

Difficult for Biden to re-enter Iran nuclear deal, Trump official predicts

It will be difficult for Joe Biden to reconstruct the Iran nuclear deal - signed when he was vice president - after Donald Trump pulled the US out, American’s envoy to Tehran has said.

Elliott Abrams spoke to local journalists on Monday during a visit to Israel, which opposed the 2015 accord.

"It doesn't really matter who is president on 20 January in the sense that there's going to be a negotiation with Iran anyway," Mr Abrams said, echoing the Trump administration's position that the US election results are not final until they have been officially certified.

"Whether it is possible to go back to the JCPOA remains to be seen," he added.

Mr Biden has said he hopes to return the US to the agreement with world powers, in which Iran agreed to limit its nuclear activities in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions.

Mr Trump withdrew from the JCPOA in 2018 and imposed crippling economic sanctions on Iran, which responded by publicly abandoning the nuclear restrictions in the agreement.