"No Way I Lost, Find My Votes Quickly"... Trump Pressures Election Official During 1-Hour Call

Trump's 1-Hour Call with Georgia Secretary of State Raffensperger
Urged Recount to Overturn Georgia Election
US Legal Scholar: "Matter That Could Lead to Trump's Indictment"

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] Controversy is growing as it has been confirmed that U.S. President Donald Trump, who had denied his defeat in the presidential election, pressured and coerced election officials in key battleground states to overturn the election results.

U.S. President Donald Trump (right), Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger [Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

On the 3rd (local time), The Washington Post (WP) released a recording of a phone call lasting about 1 hour and 2 minutes between President Trump and Brad Raffensperger, Georgia's Secretary of State. According to the call, President Trump threatened and tried to cajole Secretary Raffensperger, demanding that he find the votes necessary to overturn the Georgia election results. President Trump said, "What I want is simple. Find me 11,780 votes."

In last November's presidential election, President Trump lost Georgia by a margin of 11,779 votes. He was demanding a way to overturn the election results. Despite losing by a relatively large margin to President-elect Joe Biden, who secured 306 electoral votes compared to Trump's 232, Trump showed an obsession with the Georgia election results (16 electoral votes). Georgia is a Republican-leaning state where a Democratic presidential candidate has not won in the past 28 years.

President Trump said, "Everyone in Georgia is angry, and the people are angry," adding, "Even if you recount the votes again, no one will say there is a problem." In response, Secretary Raffensperger said, "The data the President has seems to be incorrect." Then President Trump retorted, "There is no way we lost Georgia," and "We won by hundreds of thousands of votes." During the conversation, there was also a warning from Trump that if thousands of ballots not found in Fulton County were not located, "you could face serious legal consequences for violating criminal law."

After the call, President Trump and Secretary Raffensperger exchanged rebuttals on Twitter. President Trump attacked Raffensperger and Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, accusing them of "political corruption." In response, Secretary Raffensperger said, "Mr. President, your words are false." WP introduced the phone call between President Trump and Secretary Raffensperger as potentially subject to legal controversy.

The demand and threats to "find votes" could encourage election result manipulation. Edward Foley, a law professor at Ohio State University, said regarding this, "(President Trump's remarks) are inappropriate and disgraceful," adding, "Depending on the prosecutor's judgment, it could be grounds for indictment." Carl Tobias, a professor at the University of Richmond, said, "The content reported this time means that after President Biden's inauguration, President Trump could be found guilty," and "If the judiciary or federal or local prosecutors determine a violation of state election laws, President Trump could be indicted."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.