Washington – On an hour-long call with Georgia’s Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, President Trump put him and other officials under pressure to “find” enough votes in the state’s presidential election to make him the winner, according to the sound of the call received by CBS News.
During the call, which Mr. Trump revealed, he took place in a tweet earlier Sunday, the president told Raffensperger: “All I want to do is this. I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is more than we have. Because we won the state.” The Washington Post first reported on the content of the call and published the audio. White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows also took part in the discussion.
“The people of Georgia are angry, the people in the country are angry,” can be heard from Mr. Trump on the audio recording. “And there’s nothing wrong with saying that, you know, um, that you recalculated.”
Raffensperger, a Republican, opposed the proposal of Mr. Trump pushed back and told him, “the data you have is wrong.” He also repeatedly told Mr. Trump said the election result was accurate and rejected the president’s unfounded allegations.
Mr. Trump loses presidential race in Georgia to president-elect Joe Biden with 11,779 votes. Since the November election, the votes cast in the state have been counted a total of three times, and the presidential election is confirmed each time.
The president’s call with Raffensperger marked a significant and astonishing increase in his efforts to reverse the outcome of the presidential election. In the weeks since November 3, Mr. Trump has campaigned several times in an effort to reverse the results, look to the courts and then to state legislators and now Congress to deliver a second term to him.
But Mr. Trump’s a lot of lawsuits has largely dismissed, and the states all ratified their election results. In addition, presidential voters from the 50 states and the District of Columbia convened on December 14 to cast their ballots again. what mr. Biden’s victory confirmed.
Mr. Trump still refused to accept the election results, especially in Georgia, and repeatedly attacked Raffensperger and Gov. Brian Kemp, also a Republican. The victory of mr. Biden there was the first time in nearly thirty years that a Democrat won the state.
In addition to proposing that Raffensperger “find” the votes to reverse his defeat in Georgia, he also reiterated unfounded conspiracy theories about Dominion Voting Systems, a company that provided software used in 28 states.
“Do you think it’s possible that they shredded the ballot papers in Fulton County? Because that’s what the rumor is. And also that Dominion is taking out machines. That Dominion is moving really fast to get rid of their machinery. Do you know anything about that? It is illegal, ‘Trump asked Raffensperger and his general counsel, Ryan Germany.
Germany told the president: “No, Dominion has not moved any machinery from Fulton County” and repeatedly said. Trump’s continued allegations shot down whether Dominion had ‘moved the interior parts of the machines and replaced them with other parts’.
Mr. Trump called Raffensperger a ‘child’ during the call and ‘either dishonest or incompetent’ because he did not believe there was voter fraud in Atlanta. The president called himself a ‘schmuck’ because he endorsed Kemp, and he appears to be threatening Raffensperger and Germany with alleged fraud, although there was no evidence to claim that votes were illegally destroyed.
“You know what they did, and you’re not reporting it. It’s a criminal, it’s a criminal offense,” he said. “And you can not let that happen. It’s a big risk for you and for Ryan, your lawyer. And it’s a big risk.”
Mr. Trump then claims that ballots are shredded and machinery removed.
“You can not make it happen, and you make it happen too,” he said according to the audio. “I’m letting you know it’s happening.
Mr. Trump said Raffensperger’s refusal to reverse the outcome of the presidential race would prevent Republicans from voting in some by-elections on Tuesday, the outcome of which will determine which party controls the Senate.
“There’s a big election coming up and because of what you did to the president – you know, the people of Georgia know it was a scam,” Trump said. “Because of what you did to the president, a lot of people are not going to vote, and a lot of Republicans are going to vote negatively because they hate what you did to the president. OK? They hate it. And they’re going to vote. And you will be respected, really respected if it can be rectified before the election. ‘
Mr. Trump referred to the call earlier Sunday Twitterand said he spoke to Raffensperger about Fulton County and alleged voter fraud in the state.
“He was not willing, or unable, to answer questions such as the ‘ballots under the table; scam, destruction of the ballot, out of state’ voters’, dead voters, and more. He has no idea! ” said the president.
In response to Trump’s tweet, Raffensperger said“With respect, President Trump: What you say is not true. The truth will come out.”
Congress will convene for a joint sitting on Wednesday confirm and certify the results of the Electoral College. More than 100 GOP House members are expected to object to the results of some states, and a group of nearly a dozen Republican senators plan to challenge the election results, unless a commission for the audit of the results is appointed.
However, it is highly unlikely that their objections will succeed, as both chambers must vote separately to continue an objection. While the Democrats control the House, it’s all but guaranteed lawmakers who do not have the electoral votes of Mr. Praying will not excrete.