Georgia Prosecutors Are Opening A Criminal Investigation Into The Infamous Trump Call Asking For More Votes
Update January 10, 2020
Former President Donald Trump called Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in December begging for him to overturn the election results. He asked for the secretary of state to find 11,780 votes to flip the results of the state. Prosecutors have officially opened a criminal investigation into the phone call.
Fulton County prosecutor Fani Willis is leading a criminal probe into Trump’s desperate Georgia call.
Trump was recorded in a call desperately begging for Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to overturn the election. Newly elected Democratic prosecutor for Fulton County Fani Willis sent a letter asking that all documents about the call be preserved. The letter is seeking the information for “an investigation into attempts to influence” the election in Georgia.
“It has come to our attention via media reports that contacts were made by subjects of the investigation with other agencies that could be investigating this matter, including the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, and the United States Attorney’s office for the Northern District of Georgia. As such, this office is the one agency with jurisdiction that is not a witness to the conduct that is the subject of the investigation,” reads the letter. “This agency has jurisdiction over this matter because this judicial circuit is where the Georgia government entities that were contacted are headquartered including the Office of the Governor, the Secretary of State, the Attorney General, and the General Assembly.”
Original: President Donald Trump continues on his campaign to overturn the election results after losing to President-elect Joe Biden. In recently leaked audio, President Trump was recorded begging the Georgia secretary of state to change the results to give him the presidency.
President Donald Trump is still begging states to overturn election results.
President Trump lost the 2020 presidential election after President-elect Joe Biden managed to flip Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona, Georgia, and Pennsylvania. For two months, President Trump has done everything possible to invalidate votes and change the election results.
“The people of Georgia are angry, the people of the country are angry,” President Trump said during his hour-long call with Georgia’s Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. “And there’s nothing wrong with saying, you know, that you’ve recalculated.”
Legislators are calling the phone call a clear impeachable offense.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has unequivocally called President Trump’s call an impeachable offense. It is similar to the phone call with Ukrainian officials that led to President Trump’s impeachment earlier in his terms. President Trump’s Ukraine call caused problems because he was begging Ukrainian officials to dig up dirt on his political opponent.
“I absolutely think it’s an impeachable offense, and if it was up to me, there would be articles on the floor quite quickly, but he, I mean, he is trying to — he is attacking our very election. He’s attacking our very election,” Rep. AOC told reporters at the start of Congress’ new session.
Politicians are calling the phone call an abuse of power.
Vice Preisdent-elect Kamala Harris called the phone call a “bald-faced, bold abuse of power by the President of the United States.” President Trump lost Georgia by 11,779 votes and he asked Secretary Raffensperger to claim he recalculated and give him 11,780 votes to flip Georgia.
An intern monitoring the phone lines for Secretary Raffensperger first thought that the phone calls were pranks calls. The White House attempted to contact Secretary Raffensperger 18 times before the call was finally patched through.
A coalition of representatives is joining together to censure President Trump because of the call.
Rep. Hank Johnson, a Democrat representing Georgia, has filed a resolution censuring President Trump because of his call attempting to overturn the Georgia election results.
GOP leadership and politicians are torn over the issue. Some GOP senators are looking to vote against the certification of votes in the Senate. Others are calling on their colleagues to do the right thing and uphold our democracy.
“I plan on honoring that oath by supporting the state certifications and the will of the people. I will vote to certify in accordance with my duty under the Constitution,” Ohio GOP Sen. Rob Portman, who faces reelection in 2022, said in a statement. “I cannot support allowing Congress to thwart the will of the voters.”
