On Saturday, January 2, The Washington Post published audio of the hour-long phone call between Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and Donald Trump. The tape featured President Trump pressuring Raffensperger and other officials to "find" enough votes in the state's presidential election results, thus overruling Joe Biden's victory. Trump has also vaguely threatened Georgia officials with legal consequences if they didn't comply.
According to President Trump, he was the one to win the state, - a suggestion promptly debunked by Secretary Raffensperger.
“All I want to do is this,” Trump said. “I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have. Because we won the state.” He later added: “So what are we going to do here, folks? I only need 11,000 votes. Fellas, I need 11,000 votes. Give me a break.”
"The people of Georgia are angry, the people in the country are angry," Mr. Trump can be heard saying on the audio recording. "And there's nothing wrong with saying that, you know, um, that you've recalculated." Raffensperger, in turn, told him "the data you have is wrong." Secretary Raffensperger has also repeatedly stated that the results of the election are accurate.
Mr. Trump lost the presidential race in Georgia to President-Elect Joe Biden by 11,779 votes. However, Trump is convinced that some ballots were "dumped in" in Biden's favor, depriving the incumbent of his "rightful" victory. Since the November election, ballots cast in the state have been counted thrice, clearly affirming Joe Biden's victory.
Mr. Trump, however, has refused to accept the election results, especially in Georgia, and has repeatedly attacked Republicans Raffensperger and Governor Brian Kemp. Mr. Biden's victory in Georgia marked the first time in nearly 30 years that a Democrat won the state. "Do you think it's possible that they shredded ballots in Fulton County? Because that's what the rumor is. And also that Dominion took out machines. That Dominion is really moving fast to get rid of their machinery. Do you know anything about that? Because that's illegal," Trump pressed Raffensperger and his general counsel Ryan Germany.
Mr. Trump has also described the phone call on Twitter. "He was unwilling, or unable, to answer questions such as the 'ballots under the table; scam, ballot destruction, out of state 'voters', dead voters, and more. He has no clue!" the president referred to his dialogue with Raffensperger.
In response to Mr. Trump's tweet, Raffensperger countered, "Respectfully, President Trump: What you're saying is not true. The truth will come out."
Congress will convene in a joint session Wednesday to tally and certify the results of the Electoral College. More than 100 GOP House members are expected to object to some states' results, with a group of nearly a dozen Republican senators also planning to challenge the electoral results unless a commission to audit the results is appointed.