Former President Donald Trump said on Monday that the Washington Post, now admitted, wrongly citing his December call with a Georgia election investigator was a “media scam”.
But Trump said in an e-mailed statement: “I thank the Washington Post for correction. “
The then president’s post-election link with the election investigator was widely described as evidence that he pressured state officials to dishonestly subvert President Biden’s victory and the will of voters. But the Washington Post correction – after the audio file was discovered in a state official’s junk e-mail folder – undermined the seemingly more compelling quotes that had been attributed to him.
“You will notice that media mistakes, omissions, mistakes and blatant lies always lean to one side – against me and against the Republicans,” said Trump.
“In the meantime, stories that hurt Democrats or undermine their narratives are buried, ignored or delayed until they can do the least damage – for example, after an election has ended. Just look at the negative coverage of the vaccine that preceded the election and the delayed celebration of the vaccine once the election has ended. A strong democracy requires a fair and honest press. This latest media hoax stresses that legacy media must be considered political entities, not journalistic companies. “
The correction substantially altered the account of the phone call, which was politically explosive because it appeared to show Trump planning to overthrow an election.
“Correction: Two months after the publication of this story, Georgia’s Secretary of State released an audio recording of President Donald Trump’s call in December with the state’s top electoral investigator. The recording revealed that the Post erroneously cited Trump’s comments about the call, based on information provided by a source, ”the correction published on Thursday began.
“Trump did not tell the investigator to ‘find the fraud’ or say that he would be ‘a national hero’ if he did. Instead, Trump urged the investigator to examine the ballots in Fulton County, Georgia, saying she would find ‘dishonesty’ there. He also told her that she had ‘the most important job in the country at the moment’ ”.
The earlier, more forceful version of the appeal was used by Democrats during Trump’s second impeachment for allegedly fomenting the January 6 riot on Capitol Hill. House impeachment managers argued that when Trump failed to get state officials to overturn the election, he unleashed a crowd to ensure that Congress couldn’t certify the election. Trump was acquitted, but with seven Senate Republicans voting to find him guilty of “inciting insurrection”.
In a separate call with Georgia’s Secretary of State, Brad Raffensperger, whose audio was acquired by the Washington Post and the New York Times, Trump said: “I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we are.” His defense lawyers argued that he was in the context talking about how to find a legitimate path to electoral victory.
Trump said the Post’s correction amply justifies it.
“THE Washington Post I just issued a correction for the content of the incorrectly reported phone call I received regarding electoral fraud in the Greater State of Georgia. While I appreciate the Washington Post’s correction, which immediately makes the Georgian witch hunt a non-story, the original story was a scam from the start. I would also appreciate a strong investigation in Fulton County, Georgia, and Stacey Abrams’ political machine that, I believe, would totally change the course of the presidential election in Georgia, ”Trump said in the statement.
The former president took the opportunity to repeat his frequent criticisms of Georgia’s electoral practices after the state narrowly went bankrupt for Biden.
“Fulton County has not been properly audited for voting or signature verification. They looked only at areas of the state where there were likely to be few problems and, even there, they found a large number of errors. We are looking to find and reveal the large-scale electoral fraud that took place in Georgia. Many residents agree, and their anger prevented them from appearing and voting for two Republican senators in the January election, ”said Trump.
“The Consent Decree signed between Raffensperger and Stacey Abrams was not approved by the Georgia State Legislature and must therefore be considered invalid and the election result changed. Why is the governor and Raffensperger passing this consent decree one of the big questions? We are looking forward to an answer. “