The report is the latest example of Trump’s extraordinary efforts to influence election officials in Georgia because they ratified the results, although there is no evidence of widespread election fraud. Trump’s actions drew the attention of Georgia’s Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, as well as a Fulton County prosecutor who has launched a criminal investigation.
“If the right answer comes out, you will be praised,” Trump said in a six-minute conversation on Dec. 23, according to Frances Watson, the lead investigator at Georgia’s foreign secretary.
“I won everything but Georgia. And I won Georgia, I know it. A lot. And the people know it. And something happened. Something bad happened,” Trump reportedly told Watson during the phone call.
At the time, Watson was investigating the Secretary of State and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s audit of more than 15,000 signatures in Cobb County, outside Atlanta. The results of the audit found no evidence of fraudulent ballots, and Biden was declared the winner of Georgia in the election.
“I hope you go back two years instead of checking on each other,” Trump could hear during the call. “Because it would just be a signature test that means nothing.”
Trump further told Watson to also look at Fulton County, the most populous county in the state and the country that houses most of Atlanta.
“But if you go back two years, and if you can come to Fulton, you’re going to find things that are going to be incredible,” the then president said. “The dishonesty we heard from. But Fulton is the mother. ‘
Watson replied, “I can assure you that our team and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, that we are only interested in the truth and find the information based on the facts.”
Ari Schaffer, spokesman for Raffensperger’s office, told CNN: “This phone call is just one more example of how the public comments from Secretary Raffensperger’s office also reflect what was said in one-on-one conversations: we will law follows and every legitimate vote counts. and investigate any allegations of fraud. This is exactly what we did and how we arrived at the accurate final vote. ‘
A Trump spokesman did not respond to a CNN request for comment regarding the call between Trump and Watson.
Investigators in both sins are interested in Trump’s call to Watson, according to sources familiar with the sins.
Willis made clear her investigative intentions in February with a round of letters to Georgia government officials asking them to keep documents relevant to election interference as she investigated possible state crimes, including the outcry of fraud, conspiracy and racketeering. .
A source familiar with the Georgia Secretary of State’s investigation has confirmed that officials are looking at two calls Trump brought to their office. The one is the phone call in January where Trump pressed Raffensperger to “find” votes to reverse the election results after his loss to Biden. The other is the call Trump made to Watson on Dec. 23.
In an earlier statement to CNN, on February 9, Trump’s senior adviser Jason Miller said there was nothing “improper or unpleasant” about the call between Trump and Raffensperger.
“If Mr Raffensperger did not want to receive calls about the election, he would not have chosen to have the Secretary of State,” Miller said in the statement.