Donald Trump has been pressured by Georgia’s secretary of state to overthrow the victory of US President-elect Joe Biden in the state in a tape obtained by the Washington Post.
The conversation is mainly between Trump and Brad Raffensperger, Georgia’s Republican secretary of state, but Trump’s allies were also present, including Mark Meadows, White House chief of staff and attorney Cleta Mitchell, as well as Ryan. Germany, general counsel of Raffensperger. These are the main points:
1. Trump tried to change the election result
During the call, Trump pressured Raffensperger to “find 11,780 votes.”
“The people of Georgia are angry, the people of the country are angry,” Trump said. “And there’s nothing wrong with saying, you know, you’ve recalculated.” He later stated, “What are we going to do here, people? I only need 11,000 votes. Friends, I need 11,000 votes. Give me a break.”
Joe Biden won Georgia. The result has been certified and Biden’s victory at the election university will be ratified by Congress on Wednesday.
2. Trump tried to intimidate Raffensperger
Trump insisted, “There’s no way to lose Georgia. There’s no way. We’ve 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 don’t report it,” Trump said. “You know, this is a criminal offense. And you know what, you can’t let that happen. This poses a great risk to you and Ryan [Germany], your lawyer. That is a big risk. “
3. Trump put pressure on Georgia’s runoff
Trump told Raffensperger that if he did not act on Tuesday, he would harm the chances of Georgia Republicans David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler in this week’s election, which will determine whether Democrats or Republicans control the Senate. Referring to the rounds of the call, Trump said, “It would be respected, really respected, if this can be rectified before the election.”
4. Raffensperger continued to face Trump
Raffensperger is a Republican who has pushed against Trump and insisted that Biden’s victory in Georgia was fair. In response to Trump, he said, “Well, Mr. President, the challenge you have is that the data you have is incorrect.”
When Trump claimed that there were more than 5,000 votes cast in the state for dead people, Raffensperger responded: “The actual number was two. Two. Two dead people who voted. “
5. Trump may have committed a crime
University of Richmond law professor Carl Tobias said Trump could be “in legal danger after the inauguration of Biden.” In an email to The Guardian, he wrote: “For example, if the U.S. Department of Justice or lawyers believe Trump 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, they believe Trump violated state election laws, federal or state prosecutors could file a lawsuit against Trump. “
Richard H Pildes, a professor of constitutional law at New York University, told the Washington Post, “The president is either trying to coerce state officials into corrupting the integrity of elections or is so deceived that he believes what he says.” Trump’s actions may have violated federal statutes, he said.
Michael R Bromwich, a former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, wrote, “If there are no parts of the tape that somehow deny criminal intent, ‘I just want to find 11,780 votes.’ and his threats against Raffensperger and his lawyer violate U.S. Code 20511. ”
6. Trump refused to back down
Sunday Trump he tweeted: “I spoke yesterday with Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger about Fulton County and electoral fraud in Georgia. He was unwilling or unable to answer questions such as the” ballot papers under the table “scam. destruction of ballots, out-of-state “voters,” dead voters, and so on.
Twitter tagged the tweet with the disclaimer: “This claim about election fraud is in dispute” and Raffensperger responded to Trump’s claims with a tweet that said, “Respectfully, President Trump: What you say is not true “.