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Hillary Clinton's campaign said Saturday it will participate in the recount efforts in Wisconsin spearheaded by Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein. If Stein also pursues recounts in Pennsylvania and Michigan, as she has pledged, the Clinton campaign will participate in those efforts, as well.

, Clinton campaign lawyer Marc Erik Elias wrote that "regardless of the potential to change the outcome in any of the states, we feel it is important, on principle, to ensure our campaign is legally represented" in any recount proceedings. It was the first time anyone from the Clinton camp had publicly weighed in on the potential recounts.
As the Two-Way 

, Stein and another third-party candidate filed for a recount in Wisconsin, and she plans to do the same in Pennsylvania and Michigan. President-elect Donald Trump's narrow victories in those states gave him enough electoral votes to cinch the election.
After launching a 

 Wednesday, Stein — whose website explicitly says the recounts are not aimed at helping Clinton, but in preserving the integrity of the election — has raised nearly $6 million to pay for recounts.


Elias explained in his post that Clinton campaign directors had not pursued a recount themselves because they "had not uncovered any actionable evidence of hacking or outside attempts to alter the voting technology." But, he said, "now that a recount has been initiated in Wisconsin, we intend to participate in order to ensure the process proceeds in a manner that is fair to all sides."

He said that the campaign would do the same in Michigan and Pennsylvania if Stein files for recounts there, too.

Elias said the Clinton camp is "fully aware" that the outcome of the election is unlikely to change, noting that "the number of votes separating Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton in the closest of these states — Michigan — well exceeds the largest margin ever overcome in a recount."

 Stein said her goal in pushing for a recount wasn't to change the results of the election but to make sure U.S. elections are "fair and reliable."


"We need a system that empowers voters, and that needs to start with a voting system we can trust," she said.

Still, Elias wrote, the Clinton campaign believes it has "an obligation" to the 64 million people who voted for Clinton to "participate in ongoing proceedings to ensure that an accurate vote count will be reported."

Trump issued a statement Saturday calling the recount efforts "ridiculous" and pointing out that Clinton had already conceded. It also said:


Trump's former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski 

 Saturday about the Clinton campaign's decision to back the recounts.


 that President Obama called Clinton on election night and urged her to concede to Trump. Without his urging, she may have waited for the final results, according to anonymous sources from her camp. 

This post has been updated with Trump's statement. 

Subsequent to posting, NPR reached two officials with the Clinton campaign. They are not supporting the recount effort. They are participating in it.

Politics and Government News

Laura Wagner

Author

The Clinton camp also said it is "fully aware" that the outcome of the election is unlikely to change.

Clinton campaign says it will join recount efforts

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