Even if he's turning away his intelligence briefers, Donald Trump must know his latest conspiracy claim is a whopper. The US President-elect has insisted on Twitter that he won the presidential popular vote, despite the Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton having secured over two million votes more than him at the latest count.

"In addition to winning the Electoral College in a landslide, I won the popular vote if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally," Mr Trump insisted in a Saturday afternoon tweet. There is so far no evidence whatsoever of any widespread voter fraud.

The Republican was apparently irritated by the Clinton campaign's participation in a vote recount in three states that helped Mr Trump to reach an expected 306 Electoral College votes - a convincing win, though one that historians would hesitate to describe as a landslide.

Mr Trump claimed throughout his campaign that the election was "rigged". This weekend, he has both attacked the Clinton campaign for daring to re-examine the results, and now insisted that the results are in fact wrong by millons of votes.</s>Democrats are trying to force a fight over President-elect Donald Trump's business interests.

Because Republicans control Congress, Democrats have no investigative power. They can't make Trump answer questions about how his holdings around the world clash with his duties as president.

But Democrats are pulling other levers — launching letter campaigns, planning to recruit sympathetic Republicans, encouraging outside watchdog groups and petitioning federal agencies to police conflicts themselves.

"Trump seems to believe he's above the law," Representative Elijah Cummings of Maryland, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, told CNNMoney. "That's dangerous for democracy, and it's our duty to look at these situations."

Trump owns or has a position in more than 500 companies, according to a CNN analysis. That includes companies that have done business in 25 foreign countries, including Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

He has said he will turn over control of the family business to his adult children, who are also members of his political transition team. Ethics experts stress this would not eliminate a conflict.

Trump's incoming chief of staff, Reince Priebus, has told CNN that the White House counsel will make sure there are no conflicts of interest. The president is generally exempt from federal conflict-of-interest laws.

"I can use the power of the pen and microphone," said Cummings, whose committee investigates government waste, fraud and abuse. He has written and made public six letters seeking information on potential conflicts posed by a Trump presidency.

That includes a letter Monday signed by every Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, demanding that its Republican chairman, Jason Chaffetz of Utah, start reviewing Trump's financial arrangements.

"Mr. Trump has exhibited a shocking level of disdain for legitimate bipartisan concerns about his conflicts of interest," the letter said.

Chaffetz did not immediately answer a request for comment from CNNMoney.

Sensing that Republicans will stonewall congressional oversight efforts, Democrats are making plans to go around the committee.

Representative Gregory Meeks of New York, who sits on the House Financial Services Committee, told CNNMoney that Democrats can demand federal agencies launch their own investigations.

Inspectors general have the power to audit and investigate their agencies, and they answer not just to their agencies but to Congress.

"They still have to give us a reply as to what they are or not doing," Meeks said.

Representative Maxine Waters of California is calling on the inspectors general of eight agencies, including the Treasury and Justice Departments, to "root out any potential conflicts of interest."

As an example, she cites Trump's $360 million debt to Deutsche Bank. The Obama Justice Department wants the bank to pay $14 billion to settle claims related to toxic mortgages. Democrats warn that Trump will be in a position to extend friendlier terms to the bank.

Democrats were emboldened by Trump's comments last week to The New York Times. The president-elect told the paper he could run his business and the country perfectly at the same time, and he noted that "the law's totally is on my side."

Related: Trump: Selling my real estate to avoid conflict would be hard

That statement has raised questions about whether Trump even intends to remove himself from his business operations while he's president.

In a CNN poll last week, 59% of respondents said Trump had not made adequate plans to separate his business interests from his responsibility to the public.

Cummings said his office has been flooded with calls from concerned constituents.

"Trump is largely responsible for creating all sorts of doubts about elected officials using their position for their benefit, and now he has opened the door for him to do the same thing," Cummings said. Trump constantly railed during the campaign about a "rigged system."

Still, Democrats know they will need Republican support and may target Republicans, including Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who have criticized Trump in the past. Graham has called for an investigation into Russian interference in the election.

At least one Republican in Congress, Justin Amash of Michigan, has called Trump out on conflicts. "You rightly criticized Hillary for Clinton Foundation," he tweeted last week. "If you have contracts w/ foreign govt, it's certainly a big deal too #DRAINTHESWAMP."

Amash's criticism is also significant because he sits on the House Oversight Committee.

The conservative-leaning editorial boards of The Wall Street Journal and New York Post have called on Trump to liquidate his assets or find an ethical resolution.

"Even the appearance of monetizing the presidency as another Trump brand would be outrageous," wrote the Post.

Breitbart, the far-right website formerly run by Trump's senior adviser Steve Bannon, went so far as to write last week that Trump has "yet to find a convincing answer to the conflicts of interests that his vast business empire will pose as he takes the oath of office."</s>As one of North Dakota's three electors, Olson is tasked with representing his state in the Electoral College by casting a vote for one of the presidential candidates. And even though Trump won North Dakota with 63 percent of the vote, Olson said Monday he's been receiving "hundreds" of messages asking him to vote against the Republican president-elect.

"I'm not conflicted. I'll be voting for Trump," said Olson, a former Republican state lawmaker.

That appears to be the case with the other two electors, Duane Mutch and Bev Clayburgh. Both said they've received a few letters making similar requests.

"I wouldn't even consider making a change because a large percentage of my fellow citizens voted for Trump," said Clayburgh, who lives in Grand Forks. "I'd probably have to leave the state if I voted otherwise."

The messages to North Dakota's electors appear to be part of a larger effort across the country. A Change.org petition asking electors to vote for Democrat Hillary Clinton garnered more than 4.6 million supporters as of late Monday morning.

One New Hampshire resident who emailed Olson said Trump was not qualified to be president and also pointed to "an unprecedented level of interference" during the election, including the hacking of private emails, allegations of voter suppression in swing states, FBI Director James Comey's actions over the investigation of Clinton's use of a private email server, and incidents of voter intimidation.

Another email Olson received Monday morning, which he forwarded to the Herald, argued Trump is unqualified and has "no regard for the office, for the Constitution, or for the dignity and greatness of our dear country." It also points out Clinton won the national popular vote, with her lead growing to more than 2 million, according to Reuters.

"Of course faithless electors are incredibly rare, which is as it should be—this is a unique circumstance, which requires emergency measures," the email to Olson states. "Not voting for Trump (or choosing to vote for another candidate) would be patriotic."

USA Today reported last week that 22 states, including North Dakota and Minnesota, don't have laws restricting how electors must vote. Jim Silrum, North Dakota's deputy secretary of state, said most people contacting his office are asking for contact information for the electors.

"But some do not understand the process and think that we have some authority to make the electors change their vote or that we are the electors," he said in an email. The electors will meet at 1 p.m. Dec. 19 at the governor's office—the public could attend the event—to cast secret and separate ballots for president and vice president, Silrum said.

The Electoral College push also comes as Clinton's campaign announced over the weekend it would join Green Party candidate Jill Stein's efforts to seek a recount in several states Trump won by slim margins. Marc Elias, the Clinton campaign's counsel, said they "intend to participate in order to ensure the process proceeds in a manner that is fair to all sides," but noted they had not found "any actionable evidence of hacking or outside attempts to alter the voting technology."

Olson said everyone is looking with some "curiosity" as to how Trump will perform as president, but he doesn't want to "relitigate" things that were said during the campaign.

"I think now is the time ... to move forward," he said.</s>The Board of State Canvassers certified Trump’s 10,704-vote victory on Monday, nearly three weeks after the election. The two-tenths of a percentage point margin out of nearly 4.8 million votes is the closest presidential race in Michigan in more than 75 years.

Trump’s win in Michigan gives the Republican 306 electoral votes to Democrat Hillary Clinton’s 232.

Trump is the first Republican presidential nominee to win Michigan since 1988.

Green Party candidate Jill Stein is expected to ask for a recount. She has until Wednesday. Trump would have seven days to file objections to her request.</s>In an unprecedented allegation by a President-elect, Donald Trump has alleged that ‘millions of people’ voted illegally for Hillary Clinton in the November 8 polls and serious voter fraud were committed in three states where he lost.

Trump, who offered no evidence for his claims, said that he would have won the popular votes in the United States general election ‘if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally’.

‘In addition to winning the Electoral College in a landslide, I won the popular vote if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally,’ Trump said in a first of the series of tweets on Sunday evening.

He alleged that serious voter fraud were committed in three States of Virginia, New Hampshire and California where he lost.

The allegation by Trump, who won the required votes in the Electoral College to secure the presidency, comes as Democratic rival Hillary Clinton's lead in the popular vote over Trump has surpassed 2.0 million votes and is expected to grow to more than 2.5 million as ballots in populous states such as California continue to be tallied.

Clinton has 232 Electoral College votes in her kitty as against 270 required to be declared as elected.

The Republican billionaire’s allegations came as steps are being taken towards recounting of votes in the swing state of Wisconsin, which Trump won.

Earlier, he described an impending recount of votes in Wisconsin as a ‘scam’ and said the results of the presidential election should be respected instead of being challenged or ‘abused’.

‘It would have been much easier for me to win the so-called popular vote than the Electoral College in that I would only campaign in 3 or 4- - states instead of the 15 states that I visited. I would have won even more easily and convincingly (but smaller states are forgotten)!’ Trump said in another tweet.

Soon he fired another tweet alleging voter fraud in three states.

‘Serious voter fraud in Virginia, New Hampshire and California - so why isn't the media reporting on this? Serious bias - big problem!’ Trump said.

This is the first time he has alleged voter fraud in his own victory, however, neither he nor the campaign explained the reasons for such an allegation or if they have any evidence of it.

The Washington Post described the allegations as baseless, while The New York Times said the claims are unsubstantiated.

The Presidential Transition Team did not respond to a question in this regard.

‘Donald J Trump made the unsubstantiated claim during a series of Twitter posts in which he railed against a push for a recount in three states,” the New York Times reported.

Trump taking up the social media with a flood of tweets -- nearly a dozen -- comes a day after the Clinton Campaign said that it would join the Green Party efforts towards recounting of votes in three States of Wisconsin, Philadelphia and Michigan. Trump won all these three states but by a narrow margin.</s>Donald Trump spent his Sunday slamming Hillary Clinton over her campaign’s decision to assist with a recount request in three swing states and insisting that if it weren’t for “millions of people who voted illegally,” he would have won the U.S. popular vote.

“In addition to winning the Electoral College in a landslide, I won the popular vote if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally,” Trump posted to his Twitter account toward the end of an hours-long tirade.(nydailynews.com)…[+]</s>besides winning the Electoral College "in a landslide" in the Nov. 8 election: "I won the popular vote if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally."

The allegation, made without evidence, comes as Democratic rival Hillary Clinton's lead in the popular vote over Trump has surpassed 2 million votes and is expected to grow to more than 2.5 million as ballots in populous states such as California continue to be tallied.

Clinton's legal team said on Saturday it had agreed to participate in a recount of Wisconsin votes after the state's election board approved the effort requested by Green Party candidate Jill Stein, which Trump has called "ridiculous."

"In addition to winning the Electoral College in a landslide, I won the popular vote if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally," Trump tweeted as reporters waited for him to leave his Mar-a-Lago golf resort in Florida to fly back to his residence in New York City.

The U.S. presidential race is decided by the Electoral College, based on a tally of wins from the state-by-state contests, rather than by the national vote. Trump has surpassed the 270 electoral votes needed to win the White House. The Electoral College results are expected to be finalized on Dec. 19.

Trump added he would have won the "so-called popular vote ... easily and convincingly" if the U.S. election was determined that way instead of by the Electoral College.

Before the election, Trump made unsubstantiated allegations that the results of the election might be "rigged" against him.

Since the vote, Trump's message has alternated between appealing for unity and railing against his opponents and the media.

In a video message released ahead of the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday, Trump said he hoped it would be a time for Americans "to begin to heal our divisions" following a "long and bruising political campaign."

Trump has derided the fundraising effort by Stein to launch recounts in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania as a "scam." Those states had voted Democratic in recent presidential elections but all broke narrowly for the Republican Trump in this month's election. The recounts are not expected to change the results of the election.

Stein, who won about 1 percent of the national vote, has said she wants a recount to guarantee the integrity of the U.S. voting system, a push that came after some experts raised the possibility that hacks could have affected the results.

Democratic President Barack Obama's administration has said there is no evidence of electoral tampering, but experts have said that the only way to verify the results are accurate is to conduct a recount.

Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence have a series of meetings in New York on Monday to interview potential Cabinet members and other advisers. Trump takes office on Jan. 20.</s>The allegation, made without evidence, comes as Democratic rival Hillary Clinton's lead in the popular vote over Trump has surpassed 2 million votes and is expected to grow to more than 2.5 million as ballots in populous states such as California continue to be tallied.

Clinton's legal team said on Saturday it had agreed to participate in a recount of Wisconsin votes after the state's election board approved the effort requested by Green Party candidate Jill Stein, which Trump has called "ridiculous."

"In addition to winning the Electoral College in a landslide, I won the popular vote if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally," Trump tweeted as reporters waited for him to leave his Mar-a-Lago golf resort in Florida to fly back to his residence in New York City.

The U.S. presidential race is decided by the Electoral College, based on a tally of wins from the state-by-state contests, rather than by the national vote. Trump has surpassed the 270 electoral votes needed to win the White House. The Electoral College results are expected to be finalized on Dec. 19.

Trump added he would have won the "so-called popular vote ... easily and convincingly" if the U.S. election was determined that way instead of by the Electoral College.

Before the election, Trump made unsubstantiated allegations that the results of the election might be "rigged" against him.

Since the vote, Trump's message has alternated between appealing for unity and railing against his opponents and the media.

In a video message released ahead of the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday, Trump said he hoped it would be a time for Americans "to begin to heal our divisions" following a "long and bruising political campaign."

Trump has derided the fundraising effort by Stein to launch recounts in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania as a "scam." Those states had voted Democratic in recent presidential elections but all broke narrowly for the Republican Trump in this month's election. The recounts are not expected to change the results of the election.

Stein, who won about 1 percent of the national vote, has said she wants a recount to guarantee the integrity of the U.S. voting system, a push that came after some experts raised the possibility that hacks could have affected the results.

Democratic President Barack Obama's administration has said there is no evidence of electoral tampering, but experts have said that the only way to verify the results are accurate is to conduct a recount.

Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence have a series of meetings in New York on Monday to interview potential Cabinet members and other advisers. Trump takes office on Jan. 20. (Reporting by Roberta Rampton and Dustin Volz; Writing by Dustin Volz; Editing by Peter Cooney)</s>besides winning the Electoral College "in a landslide" in the Nov. 8 election: "I won the popular vote if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally."

The allegation, made without evidence, comes as Democratic rival Hillary Clinton's lead in the popular vote over Trump has surpassed 2 million votes and is expected to grow to more than 2.5 million as ballots in populous states such as California continue to be tallied.

Clinton's legal team said on Saturday it had agreed to participate in a recount of Wisconsin votes after the state's election board approved the effort requested by Green Party candidate Jill Stein, which Trump has called "ridiculous."

"In addition to winning the Electoral College in a landslide, I won the popular vote if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally," Trump tweeted as reporters waited for him to leave his Mar-a-Lago golf resort in Florida to fly back to his residence in New York City.

The U.S. presidential race is decided by the Electoral College, based on a tally of wins from the state-by-state contests, rather than by the national vote. Trump has surpassed the 270 electoral votes needed to win the White House. The Electoral College results are expected to be finalized on Dec. 19.

Trump added he would have won the "so-called popular vote ... easily and convincingly" if the U.S. election was determined that way instead of by the Electoral College.

Before the election, Trump made unsubstantiated allegations that the results of the election might be "rigged" against him.

Since the vote, Trump's message has alternated between appealing for unity and railing against his opponents and the media.

In a video message released ahead of the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday, Trump said he hoped it would be a time for Americans "to begin to heal our divisions" following a "long and bruising political campaign."

Trump has derided the fundraising effort by Stein to launch recounts in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania as a "scam." Those states had voted Democratic in recent presidential elections but all broke narrowly for the Republican Trump in this month's election. The recounts are not expected to change the results of the election.

Stein, who won about 1 percent of the national vote, has said she wants a recount to guarantee the integrity of the U.S. voting system, a push that came after some experts raised the possibility that hacks could have affected the results.

Democratic President Barack Obama's administration has said there is no evidence of electoral tampering, but experts have said that the only way to verify the results are accurate is to conduct a recount.

Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence have a series of meetings in New York on Monday to interview potential Cabinet members and other advisers. Trump takes office on Jan. 20.</s>This brings the final electoral tally for Trump 306, while former Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton has 232 electoral votes.

Trump has won the state of Michigan by a 10,704 vote margin, with the President-elect earning 2,279,543 votes (47.5%) and Clinton earning 2,268,839 votes (47.3%).

Michigan was the only state that hadn't officially been called because the vote was too close for CNN's election results.

Clinton continues to lead Trump for the country's popular vote by about 2 million votes and the lead is likely to grow as votes are still being counted. It's likely Green Party nominee Jill Stein, who has initiated recounts in other close states, will also ask Michigan to check their results.
President-elect Donald Trump is declared as the winner in Michigan, causing his electoral college vote to rise to 306. Hillary Clinton's margin in the popular vote rises to over two million.