Trump picks up 131 votes in Wisconsin recount, says his opponents 'can now rest'

Presidential election recount efforts came to an end Monday in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, with both states certifying Republican Donald Trump as the winner in contests that helped put him over the top in the Electoral College stakes.

Meanwhile, a federal judge issued a stinging rejection of a Green Party-backed request to recount paper ballots in Pennsylvania's presidential election and scan some counties' election systems for signs of hacking.

Green Party candidate Jill Stein successfully requested and paid for the Wisconsin recount while her attempts for similar statewide recounts in Pennsylvania and Michigan were blocked by the courts.

• Ballot rules, hacking theories and recounts

Stein got only about one per cent of the vote in each of the three states, all of which Trump narrowly won over Democrat Hillary Clinton.

Stein argued, without evidence, that voting machines in the three states were susceptible to hacking. All three states were crucial to Trump's victory, having last voted for a Republican for president in the 1980s.

In Wisconsin, after nearly three million ballots were tallied, Trump picked up 131 votes and won by 22,748 votes. The final results changed just 0.06 per cent. Earlier Monday, the Wisconsin Elections Commission said Trump had picked up 162 more votes, but later revised its tally. 

Wisconsin's recount also showed no widespread problems or hacking.

Trump tweeted about the results Monday night, saying the Democrats and the Greens "can now rest."

In Pennsylvania, state officials certified the results of the election in the hours following a decision by U.S. District Judge Paul S. Diamond that denied Stein's request for a recount and hacking investigation in that state.

Trump beat Clinton by about 44,000 votes in Pennsylvania out of six million cast, or less than one per cent, according to the final tally after weeks of counting provisional and overseas ballots. 

Hacking fear 'borders on the irrational': judge

Diamond said there were at least six grounds that required him to reject Stein's lawsuit in Pennsylvania, which had been opposed by Trump, the Pennsylvania Republican Party and the state attorney general's office.

Suspicion of a hacked Pennsylvania election "borders on the irrational," while granting the Green Party's recount bid could "ensure that that no Pennsylvania vote counts" given Tuesday's federal deadline to certify the vote for the Electoral College, Diamond wrote in a stinging 31-page decision.

"Most importantly, there is no credible evidence that any 'hack' occurred, and compelling evidence that Pennsylvania's voting system was not in any way compromised," Diamond wrote.

Senate investigates Kremlin activities

The decision comes just days after an investigation into possible election hacking was ordered by President Barack Obama, with support from some top Republicans.  

The CIA recently concluded with "high confidence" that Russia sought to influence the U.S. election on behalf of Trump, raising red flags among lawmakers concerned about the sanctity of the U.S. voting system and potentially straining relations at the start of Trump's administration.

Senate Republicans John McCain of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina — a leading Trump critic — joined with two Democrats in seeking a bipartisan investigation into the Kremlin's activities during the election.

• ANALYSIS | Trump might be right about a recount

Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican, told reporters on Monday that an inquiry would be conducted by the Senate intelligence panel. 

"Obviously any foreign breach of our cybersecurity measures is disturbing, and I strongly condemn any such efforts," McConnell said. 

Trump has dismissed the CIA's conclusion as "ridiculous." 

After McConnell spoke, House Speaker Paul Ryan said the House intelligence committee will look into possible cyber threats such as alleged hacking by Russia of the Democratic National Committee and Clinton's presidential campaign. 

But the Wisconsin Republican says any investigation "should not cast doubt on the clear and decisive outcome of this election." He also chided those who would exploit the work of the U.S. intelligence community for "partisan purposes."

Ryan said any Russian interference into the election would be "especially problematic" since President Vladimir Putin is an aggressor who undermines U.S. interests. 

Even if all three recounts had taken place, it was considered highly unlikely that they would flip the overall result from Trump to Democratic challenger Clinton.

U.S. presidential elections are determined not by the overall national popular vote but by the Electoral College, which awards votes based on the outcome in each state. Clinton won the popular vote by more than 2.6 million ballots nationwide, according to the latest count.