Today, the Washington Post, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and other media outlets obtained and published audio which demonstrates neofascist Donald Trump is not surprisingly breaking the law in his attempts to subvert American democracy.
In the recording — a reproduction of a telephone call between Trump’s White House and the Secretary of State’s office in Georgia — Trump can be heard demanding that Georgia elections officials tamper with already-certified results of the presidential election in Georgia to change the outcome in his favor:
Donald Trump badgered and berated Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in a call Saturday, demanding that he “find” votes to reverse his election defeat in Georgia — the latest example of the extraordinary pressure he’s exerted on state Republican officials ahead of critical runoffs for control of the U.S. Senate.
Raffensperger refused demands from Trump to overturn the election results, telling him that the “data you have is wrong” as he pushed back on Trump’s sham theories of “stuffed ballot boxes” that the president said would reverse Joe Biden’s roughly 12,000-vote victory in Georgia.
“Fellas, I need 11,000 votes. Give me a break. We have that in spades already,” Trump said, suggesting more legal action. “Or we can keep it going. But that’s not fair to the voters of Georgia.”
Over the course of the hourlong conversation, Trump vacillated between issuing threats and begging Raffensperger to help him. A few quotes:
TRUMP IN DISBELIEF: I could tell you by our rallies. I could tell you by the rally I’m having on Monday night, the place, they already have lines of people standing out front waiting. It’s just not possible to have lost Georgia. It’s not possible.
TRUMP SPOUTING ABSURD CONSPIRACY THEORIES: You know the Internet? You know what was trending on the Internet? “Where’s [name]?” Because they thought she’d be in jail. “Where’s [name]?” It’s crazy, it’s crazy. That was. The minimum number is 18,000 for [name] , but they think it’s probably about 56,000, but the minimum number is 18,000 on the [name] night where she ran back in there when everybody was gone and stuffed, she stuffed the ballot boxes. Let’s face it, Brad, I mean. They did it in slow motion replay magnified, right? She stuffed the ballot boxes. They were stuffed like nobody has ever seen them stuffed before.
TRUMP REPEATING DEBUNKED CLAIMS: 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, uh, machinery. Do you know anything about that? Because that’s illegal, right?
TRUMP’S RESPONSE AFTER RAFFENSPERGER POINTS OUT THAT THE PROBLEM WITH SOCIAL MEDIA IS THAT “PEOPLE CAN SAY ANYTHING”: Oh this isn’t social media. This is Trump media. It’s not social media. It’s really not; it’s not social media. I don’t care about social media. I couldn’t care less. Social media is Big Tech. Big Tech is on your side, you know. I don’t even know why you have a side because you should want to have an accurate election. And you’re a Republican.
TRUMP ON STACEY ABRAMS: Fulton County. Look. Stacey, in my opinion, Stacey is as dishonest as they come. She has outplayed you… at everything. She got you to sign a totally unconstitutional agreement, which is a disastrous agreement. You can’t check signatures. I can’t imagine you’re allowed to do harvesting, I guess, in that agreement. That agreement is a disaster for this country. But she got you somehow to sign that thing, and she has outsmarted you at every step.
TRUMP ISSUES THREATS: That’s a criminal, that’s a criminal offense. And you can’t let that happen. That’s a big risk to you and to Ryan, your lawyer. And that’s a big risk. But they are shredding ballots, in my opinion, based on what I’ve heard. And they are removing machinery, and they’re moving it as fast as they can, both of which are criminal finds. And you can’t let it happen, and you are letting it happen. You know, I mean, I’m notifying you that you’re letting it happen. So look. All I want to do is this. I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have because we won the state.
TRUMP DEMANDS THAT THE ELECTION BE RIGGED: 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. You know, we have that in spades already. Or we can keep it going, but that’s not fair to the voters of Georgia because they’re going to see what happened, and they’re going to see what happened.
TRUMP DEMANDS THE ELECTION BE RIGGED FAST: It’s very simple. We won the election. As the governors of major states and the surrounding states said, there is no way you lost Georgia. As the Georgia politicians say, there is no way you lost Georgia. Nobody. Everyone knows I won it by hundreds of thousands of votes. But I’ll tell you it’s going to have a big impact on Tuesday if you guys don’t get this thing straightened out fast.
TRUMP SETS FORTH HIS EXPECTATIONS (JUST FIND ME ENOUGH VOTES TO CHANGE THE RESULT): Brad, we just want the truth. It’s simple. And everyone’s going to look very good if the truth comes out. It’s okay. It takes a little while, but let the truth come out. And the real truth is, I won by 400,000 votes. At least. That’s the real truth. But we don’t need 400,000 votes. We need less than 2,000 votes. And are you guys able to meet tomorrow, Ryan?
Vice President-elect Kamala Harris denounced Trump’s criminal conduct at a rally in Savannah, Georgia. “It was a bald-faced, bold abuse of power by the President of the United States,” she told rally attendees.
After hearing the recording, U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D‑New York) said: “I absolutely think it’s an impeachable offense and if it was up to me, there would be articles on the floor, quite quickly.”
We agree. Articles of impeachment should be promptly bought against Donald Trump. This tape alone provides ample evidence that Trump is engaged in criminal behavior and is violating the oath of office he took to protect and defend the Constitution. Members of the House all just swore or affirmed an oath today to defend that very same Constitution. And it needs defending, against all enemies, both foreign and domestic. Enemies like Donald Trump.
Impeach Donald Trump again. If the Senate runs out of time to consider Trump’s removal before January 20th, so be it. The House, at least, can consider and act on Articles of Impeachment, and take a fresh stand for our democracy.
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