Trump Pressuring Georgia Election Official to Overturn Election Results Is His Most Flagrant Act Yet

Photo credit: NICHOLAS KAMM - Getty Images
Photo credit: NICHOLAS KAMM - Getty Images

From Esquire

In a call on Saturday, President Trump pressured Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find” additional votes that would overturn the southern state’s presidential election result, according to audio obtained by the Washington Post. The call was part of Trump’s ongoing attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election—which happened more than two months ago—but asking (and threatening) an elected official to essentially invent votes is the president’s most flagrant and overt act yet. “I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have,” said Trump on the call. “Because we won the election.”

Throughout the hour-long call, Trump brought up multiple conspiracy theories that have all been investigated and rejected by election officials. He claimed one poll worker scanned 18,000 forged ballots three times, brought up dismissed charges that Fulton County ballots were shredded, and said more than 5,000 dead people voted in the election. “The actual number was two. Two. Two people that were dead that voted” Raffensperger replied. Trump then threatened Raffensperger. “You know what they did and you’re not reporting it,” the president said. “You know, that’s a criminal — that’s a criminal offense. And you know, you can’t let that happen. That’s a big risk to you and to Ryan, your lawyer. That’s a big risk.”

On multiple occasions, Raffensperger and his office’s general counsel, Ryan Germany, rejected Trump’s request to find more votes. They also repeatedly pointed out that his assertions were based on debunked conspiracy theories and disinformation. At one point, Raffensperger said, “Well, Mr. President, the challenge that you have is, the data you have is wrong.”

The conversation continued on Twitter on Sunday morning with the president tweeting, “I spoke to Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger yesterday about Fulton County and voter fraud in Georgia. He was unwilling, or unable, to answer questions such as the “ballots under table” scam, ballot destruction, out of state “voters”, dead voters, and more. He has no clue!” To which Raffensperger responded, “Respectfully, President Trump: What you're saying is not true. The truth will come out.”

Listen to the call in its entirety at The Washington Post.

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