Donald Trump pressured Georgia’s Secretary of State to overthrow President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in the state on a ribbon obtained by the Washington Post.
The conversation is mainly between Trump and Brad Raffensperger, Georgia’s Republican Secretary of State, but Trump’s allies, including Mark Meadows, the White House chief of staff, and attorney Cleta Mitchell, were also present, as well as adviser Ryan Germany Raffensperger’s general. Here are the main points:
1. Trump sought to change the outcome of the election
On the call, Trump pressured Raffensperger to “find 11,780 votes.”
“The people of Georgia are angry, the people of the country are angry,” said Trump. “And there’s nothing wrong with saying, you know, um, that you recalculated.” Later, he pleaded, “So, what are we going to do here, guys? I only need 11,000 votes. Guys, I need 11,000 votes. Give me some time.”
Joe Biden beat Georgia. The result has been certified and the victory of the Biden electoral college will be ratified by Congress on Wednesday.
2. Trump tried to intimidate Raffensperger
Trump insisted: “No way did I lose Georgia. There’s no way. We won by hundreds of thousands of votes. ”He went on to suggest that Raffensperger could face a criminal investigation. “You know what they did and you are not reporting,” said Trump. “You know, this is a criminal offense. And you know, you can’t let that happen. It’s a big risk for you and Ryan [Germany], your lawyer. It is a big risk. “
3. Trump put pressure on Georgia runoffs
Trump told Raffensperger that if he doesn’t act by Tuesday, he will be damaging the chances of Georgia Republicans David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler in the second round of this week’s election, which will determine whether Democrats or Republicans control the Senate. Referring to the second round of the call, Trump said: “You would be respected, really respected, if that could be corrected before the election.”
4. Raffensperger continued to face Trump
Raffensperger is a Republican who backed down against Trump and insisted that Biden’s victory in Georgia was fair. Responding to Trump, he said, “Well, Mr. President, the challenge you have is that the data you have is wrong.”
When Trump claimed that more than 5,000 votes were cast in the state by dead people, Raffensperger replied, “The real number was two. Two. Two dead people who voted ”.
5. Trump may have committed a crime
Richmond University law professor Carl Tobias said Trump may be “in legal danger after Biden’s inauguration.” In an email to the Guardian, he wrote: “For example, if the US Justice Department or prosecutors believe Trump has violated federal law, or if local prosecutors in states like Arizona, Georgia, Michigan and Wisconsin, where Trump may have engaged in similar behavior with state or local election officials, believe Trump has violated state election laws, federal or state prosecutors can file a lawsuit against Trump.
Richard H Pildes, a professor of constitutional law at New York University, told the Washington Post: “The president is intentionally trying to coerce state officials into corrupting the integrity of the election or is so deluded that he believes what he is saying.” Trump’s actions may have violated federal statutes, he said.
Michael R Bromwich, a former federal prosecutor for the Southern District Attorney of New York, wrote: “Unless there are parts of the tape that somehow deny the criminal intent, ‘I only want to find 11,780 votes’ and his threats against Raffensperger and his lawyer violate US code 52 20511. ”
6. Trump refused to back down
On Sunday, Trump tweeted: “I spoke with Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger yesterday about Fulton County and Georgia’s electoral fraud. He did not want or could not answer questions such as the ‘ballot-under-the-table’ coup, destruction of ballots, out-of-state ‘voters’, dead voters and much more. He has no idea! “
Twitter labeled the tweet disclaimer: “This statement about electoral fraud is contested” and Raffensperger responded to Trump’s statements with a tweet saying, “Respectfully, President Trump: What you are saying is not true.”