Trump Urges Georgia Election Official To 'Find' Over 11,000 Ballots, Review Results
President Donald Trump on Sunday asked a Georgia election official to "find" the votes he needed to overturn the latest presidential race results, reports said.
According to Associated Press, Trump was in an hour-long phone call with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a Republican, and his general counsel Ryan Germany.
In the call obtained by NBC News and The Washington Post, the president cited his claims of fraud and potential legal and political consequences.
Insisting that he won the votes in Georgia, Trump said: "I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have."
However, the Electoral College has already confirmed Democrat Joe Biden as the country's next president, following a statewide recount and audit of the election.
Trump Says There's 'No Way' He Lost Georgia
UPI reported Trump saying there was "no way" he lost Georgia and expressed his certainty that he won in the state.
The president also pressured Raffensperger into getting him the votes he needed by saying it would hurt the prospects of Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, who are in a tricky Georgia runoff election.
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"You have a big election coming up and because of what you've done to the president -- you know, the people of Georgia know that this was a scam," Trump said.
He told the secretary of state that "because of what you've done to the president," many Georgians would not want to vote, and all the Republicans who do will be voting negative because of what was done by the officials.
Trump Raises Prospect of 'Criminal Offense'
The recording also caught Trump saying there could be a "criminal offense" if officials do not change the vote count.
Trump claimed there were thousands of ballots in Georgia's Fulton County that were illegally destroyed.
"You can't let that happen. That's a big risk to you and to Ryan, your lawyer," Trump told them, but Raffensperger and Germany found no evidence of the said claim.
Germany also repeatedly told the president that voting machines used in the recent election were not tampered with for such claims to be said.
Democrats Lash Out At Trump
Several Democratic figures issued statements and reactions to the said reports and recordings.
Bob Bauer, the president-elect's senior adviser, said the recent reports showed "irrefutable proof" that the president was using pressure and threats on an official from his own party "to rescind a state's lawful, certified vote count."
Bauer said the move was a form of "assault" to American democracy.
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Vice President-elect Kamala Harris also reacted to the said reports, saying the call between Trump and the Georgia officials showed a "voice of desperation," reported The Hill.
She also called the move an "abuse of power" by the president. So far, Harris is the highest-ranking member of the incoming administration's office to comment on the matter.
Meanwhile, Trump's campaign senior adviser Jason Miller said in a tweet that the full recording only showed that Raffensperger was "a hack," reported Fox News.
Miller said Trump made real criticism of the "terrible job" done in Georgia. He also claimed that the officials running Georgia's elections were "trash" and insisted that the president won the state.
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