Then-President Donald Trump personally pressured two Republican members of the Wayne County Board of Canvassers not to sign the certification of the 2020 presidential election, according to recordings reviewed by The Detroit News and revealed publicly for the first time.
On a Nov. 17, 2020, phone call, which also involved Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel, Trump told Monica Palmer and William Hartmann, the two GOP Wayne County canvassers, they'd look "terrible" if they signed the documents after they first voted in opposition and then later in the same meeting voted to approve certification of the county’s election results, according to the recordings.
"We've got to fight for our country," said Trump on the recordings, made by a person who was present for the call with Palmer and Hartmann. "We can't let these people take our country away from us."
McDaniel, a Michigan native and the leader of the Republican Party nationally, said at another point in the call, "If you can go home tonight, do not sign it. ... We will get you attorneys."
To which Trump added: "We'll take care of that."
Palmer and Hartmann left the canvassers meeting without signing the official statement of votes for Wayne County, and the following day, they unsuccessfully attempted to rescind their votes in favor of certification, filing legal affidavits claiming they were pressured.
The moves from Palmer, Hartmann and Trump, had they been successful, threatened to throw the statewide certification of Michigan's 2020 election into doubt.
The revelation of the contents of the call with the former president comes as he faces four counts of criminal conspiracy to defraud the United States and its voters of the rightful outcome of the election. Efforts to prevent certification of Democrat Joe Biden’s 154,000-vote victory in Michigan are an integral part of the indictment.
The call involving Trump, McDaniel, Hartmann and Palmer occurred within 30 minutes of the Wayne County Board of Canvassers meeting ending on Nov. 17, 2020, according to records reviewed by The News.
The recordings further demonstrated the direct involvement of Trump, as an incumbent president, with Republican officials in Michigan in a bid to undermine Biden's win and how some details of his efforts had remained secret as he launched a campaign to win back the White House in 2024... (our emphasis)
There's much more detail and background at the link. Sleazy RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel may also have some more legal exposure from the revelations in the recording, not to mention the Malignant Loser (see Tweet below). She's also been implicated in election tampering in Georgia and Arizona.
There had been earlier reporting on the existence of this and other Malignant Loser calls, including the oft- played one to Georgia Secretary of State Raffensperger; this is the first time outside of that where there's been a recording revealed of which we're aware. It's unclear from what source the Detroit News got access to the recording. We only play lawyers on this blog, so we don't know if this somehow taints the smoking gun evidence or not. We have to see how this plays out as Special Counsel Smith's prosecution stays in high gear for now.
BONUS: This guy doesn't play a lawyer, he is one --
Trump and Ronna McDaniel - Offering a thing of value to a public official to violate oath of office = a crime. ⬇️ https://t.co/ovJ6y1g9pj
— Andrew Weissmann (weissmann11 on Threads)🌻 (@AWeissmann_) December 22, 2023
(Image: via GIPHY)
