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"SNL" skewers Michigan state election fraud hearing in cold open

Photo: Will Heath/NBC

"Saturday Night Live" returned after a monthlong break with a parody in the cold open of this week's Michigan State Legislature hearing on the Trump campaign's unfounded claims of election fraud.

Details: Kate McKinnon's Rudy Giuliani vowed to introduce "highly intelligent, barely intoxicated individuals" as witnesses. Enter Cecily Strong as Melissa Carone, a Dominion Voting Systems contractor and Trump supporter, who was likened to an "SNL" character after she claimed during testimony that "dead people voted."

  • "I personally saw hundreds if not thousands of dead people vote," says Strong's Carone in a slurred speech. "I'm not lying. I signed an after David."
  • Actor Jason Bateman was the "SNL" host and Morgan Wallen was the musical guest.

Of note: Republican leaders in Michigan have said they "have not yet been aware of any information that would change the outcome of the election" in the state.

Go deeper

Jonathan Swan
Dec 19, 2020 - Politics & Policy

Giuliani asks DHS about seizing voting machines

Rudy Giuliani speaks at an election hearing in Lansing, Mich., on Dec. 2. Photo: Rey Del Rio/Getty Images

Rudy Giuliani called Ken Cuccinelli, second in command at the Department of Homeland Security, on Thursday night and asked him whether DHS could seize voting machines, a source familiar with the call confirmed to Axios.

The state of play: Cuccinelli responded that DHS does not have that authority, the source said.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Axios
Updated 2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios

  1. Health: CDC director defends agency's response to pandemic — CDC warns highly transmissible coronavirus variant could become dominant in U.S. in March.
  2. Politics: Biden readies massive shifts in policy for his first days in office.
  3. Vaccine: Fauci: 100 million doses in 100 days is "absolutely" doable.
  4. Economy: Unemployment filings explode again.
  5. Tech: Kids' screen time sees a big increase.
  6. World: WHO team arrives in China to investigate pandemic origins.
Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Dave Lawler, author of World
3 hours ago - World

Alexey Navalny detained after landing back in Moscow

Navalny and his wife shortly before he was detained. Photo: Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP via Getty

Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny was detained upon his return to Moscow on Sunday, which came five months after he was poisoned with the nerve agent Novichok. He returned despite being warned that he would be arrested.

The latest: Navalny was stopped at a customs checkpoint and led away alone by officers. He appeared to hug his wife goodbye, and his spokesman reports that his lawyer was not allowed to accompany him.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow

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