{"slug":"georgia-election-interference-call","title":"Georgia Election Interference: Trump Demands Secretary of State 'Find' 11,780 Votes","date":"2021-01-02","lastUpdated":"2021-01-02","description":"On January 2, 2021 — four days before the Capitol attack — President Trump called Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and spent over an hour pressuring him to 'find 11,780 votes' — exactly one more than Biden's margin of victory in Georgia. The call was recorded and later published; Trump was indicted under Georgia's RICO law in 2023 for this and related acts.","summary":"Trump's January 2, 2021 phone call with Raffensperger was a direct attempt to pressure a state election official to falsify vote tallies. Trump made factually false claims about the election, threatened Raffensperger with unspecified legal 'risk,' and specifically demanded he 'find' a precise number of votes matching the margin Trump needed to win Georgia. Raffensperger refused. The conversation was recorded and published; Trump was later indicted for conspiracy and RICO violations in Georgia.","category":"rule-of-law","severity":"critical","ongoing":true,"sources":[{"url":"https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-raffensperger-call-transcript-georgia-vote/2021/01/03/2768e0cc-4ddd-11eb-83e3-322644d82356_story.html","title":"Read the full transcript of Trump's call with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger","publisher":"The Washington Post"},{"url":"https://apnews.com/article/trump-georgia-election-results-indictment-ba9e0eacca5a5a8e09a05f7f17ef2a41","title":"Trump indicted in Georgia over 2020 election interference","publisher":"The Associated Press"},{"url":"https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/03/us/politics/trump-raffensperger-georgia-call.html","title":"Trump Is Heard on Tape Pushing Georgia Official to 'Find' Votes to Overturn Election","publisher":"The New York Times"},{"url":"https://www.fulltoncountyga.gov/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=29296&tmpl=component","title":"State of Georgia v. Donald John Trump — Indictment","publisher":"Fulton County Superior Court"}],"draft":false,"status":"published","tags":["election-interference","Georgia","Raffensperger","first-term","indictment","RICO","rule-of-law","voter-fraud"],"relatedEntries":[],"timeline":[{"date":"2020-11-14","title":"Georgia certifies Biden victory","summary":"Georgia Secretary of State Raffensperger certifies Biden's victory after a hand recount and machine recount, both of which confirm Biden won Georgia by approximately 11,779 votes."},{"date":"2020-12-01","title":"Raffensperger defies Trump pressure to decertify","summary":"Despite multiple calls from Republican senators, the White House, and Trump personally, Raffensperger — a Republican — refuses to decertify Georgia's results. He and his family receive death threats."},{"date":"2021-01-02","title":"Trump's recorded call","summary":"Trump calls Raffensperger and his team in a call that lasts one hour and two minutes. He repeats dozens of false claims about Georgia election fraud. He explicitly tells Raffensperger: 'I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have, because we won the state.' He implies Raffensperger faces criminal jeopardy for not acting."},{"date":"2021-01-03","title":"Recording published","summary":"The Washington Post publishes the full audio recording and transcript of the call. Raffensperger's office confirms the transcript. The story dominates national news four days before the Capitol attack."},{"date":"2023-08-14","title":"Fulton County indictment","summary":"A Fulton County grand jury indicts Trump and 18 co-defendants on 41 counts, including violation of the Georgia RICO Act, solicitation of violation of oath of office, conspiracy, filing false documents, and false statements. It is the largest election interference prosecution in American history."},{"date":"2024-08-15","title":"Case delayed by disqualification proceedings","summary":"The Georgia case is significantly delayed by proceedings to disqualify District Attorney Fani Willis over a personal relationship with a lead prosecutor. The disqualification motion is denied but the delay allows the case to be pushed past the 2024 election."}],"location":{"name":"Washington, DC / Atlanta, Georgia","lat":33.749,"lng":-84.388},"custom":{"era":"first-term","posture":"judicial-finding","warCrimeClassification":"potential","internationalLaw":[{"statute":"International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights","article":"Article 25","provision":"Right to genuine elections expressing the free will of voters — direct executive interference with vote counting violates this right"},{"statute":"International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights","article":"Article 2","provision":"States must ensure effective remedies for violations of rights — including protection of electoral integrity from executive manipulation"}],"iccRelevance":false,"perpetrators":"President Donald Trump (made the call, issued threats); Rudy Giuliani; Mark Meadows (White House Chief of Staff, on the call); John Eastman (legal architect of the scheme)","structuredPerpetrators":[{"name":"Donald Trump","role":"President of the United States","institution":"White House"},{"name":"Mark Meadows","role":"White House Chief of Staff","institution":"White House"},{"name":"Rudy Giuliani","role":"Personal attorney to the President","institution":"Trump campaign"}],"updateLog":[{"date":"2024-08-15","summary":"Updated with disqualification proceedings delay."},{"date":"2023-08-14","summary":"Updated with Fulton County indictment."}]}}