Georgia Election Official: Trump Team 'Intentionally Misled' Voters On Fraud Claims

The legal team representing President Donald Trump’s campaign knowingly spread misinformation about so-called election fraud to the American public, a top Georgia election official said Monday.

During a press conference at the Georgia State Capitol, Gabriel Sterling, a Republican official who manages the state’s voting system, debunked numerous false claims about the election made by Trump and his campaign aides.

One such claim stemmed from a 90-second video clip that Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani says shows election workers bringing a box of ballots out from under a table to count after telling Republican poll watchers to go home.

Though the allegation has been disproven multiple times by the Georgia secretary of state’s office, Sterling on Monday again walked through what actually occurred. (Here’s a breakdown of what really happened. Basically, the ballots inside the box in question had already been accounted for.)

“This is what’s really frustrating: The president’s legal team had the entire tape,” Sterling said Monday. “They watched the entire tape and, from our point of view, intentionally misled the state Senate, voters and the people of the United States about this.”

“It was intentional,” he continued. “It was obvious. And anybody watching this knows that.”

“The Trump Legal Team has presented facts and evidence, including witnesses and expert testimony that show the administration of the 2020 election in Georgia was illegal,” Jenna Ellis, the Trump campaign’s senior legal adviser, said in a statement. “For a Georgia official to now make a rebutting claim on the eve of the Congressional count is ridiculous.”

The press conference Monday came on the heels of an extraordinary phone call between Trump and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, another Republican, in which the president pressured him to overturn President-elect Joe Biden’s win.

“We have won this election in Georgia,” Trump falsely claimed during the hourlong call. “And there’s nothing wrong with saying that, Brad. You know, I mean, having the correct ― the people of Georgia are angry. ... And there’s nothing wrong with saying that, you know, that you’ve recalculated.”

“All I want to do is this: I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have,” added the president, who vaguely threatened Raffensperger with a “criminal offense” if he did not obey his request.

As Trump continues to challenge Georgia’s presidential election results, the state is preparing for Tuesday’s twin Senate runoffs, which will decide which party controls the upper chamber.

Sterling on Monday implored Georgians to vote in the runoffs despite the rampant misinformation being peddled by Trump and other Republican officials.

“There are people who fought and died and marched and prayed to get the right to vote,” Sterling said, adding that anyone who throws away their vote is “self-destructive.”

Watch Sterling’s full press conference below:

This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.