{"slug":"trump-first-term-georgia-senate-election-interference","title":"Georgia Election Interference: Raffensperger Call, Pressure to Find 11,780 Votes","date":"2021-01-02","lastUpdated":"2023-08-14","description":"On January 2, 2021, Trump called Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and asked him to 'find' 11,780 votes — precisely one more than Joe Biden's margin of victory in Georgia. The call was recorded by Raffensperger's office and subsequently leaked to the Washington Post and other outlets. Trump made explicit and implicit threats during the call, suggesting Raffensperger faced 'a big risk' by refusing to change the vote count, and was 'not a fighter.' On August 14, 2023, a Fulton County, Georgia grand jury indicted Trump and 18 co-defendants on 41 criminal charges including racketeering, solicitation of violation of oath by a public officer, and conspiracy to commit election fraud.","summary":"The January 2, 2021 call lasted approximately one hour. Trump told Raffensperger he had won Georgia by 'hundreds of thousands of votes,' cited debunked fraud claims involving suitcases of ballots, a water main break, and Dominion Voting Systems, and asked Raffensperger to recalculate — or simply declare — a Trump victory. Raffensperger told Trump his information was wrong. Trump's lawyers and chief of staff were also on the call. Raffensperger's attorney Ryan Germany debunked specific claims in real time during the call. The recorded call was the most explicit documented example of Trump personally pressuring a state election official to alter certified results. The Fulton County indictment in August 2023 charged Trump under Georgia's RICO statute.","category":"rule-of-law","severity":"extreme","ongoing":true,"sources":[{"url":"https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-raffensperger-call-transcript/2021/01/03/story.html","title":"Trump pressured Georgia secretary of state to 'find' votes — audio and transcript","publisher":"The Washington Post"},{"url":"https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/03/us/politics/trump-raffensperger-call-georgia.html","title":"Transcript of Trump's Call With Georgia Secretary of State","publisher":"The New York Times"},{"url":"https://apnews.com/article/trump-indicted-georgia-rico-raffensperger-election","title":"Trump indicted in Georgia election interference case","publisher":"The Associated Press"},{"url":"https://www.fultoncountyga.gov/news/2023/08/14/fulton-county-district-attorney-announces-indictment-of-former-president-donald-trump","title":"Fulton County Indictment — State of Georgia v. Donald John Trump et al.","publisher":"Fulton County District Attorney"}],"draft":false,"status":"published","tags":["Georgia","Raffensperger","election-interference","post-presidency","rule-of-law","RICO","indictment","fake-electors"],"relatedEntries":[],"timeline":[{"date":"2020-11-05","title":"Georgia certifies Biden victory — Trump begins pressure campaign","summary":"Georgia certifies Joe Biden's victory in the presidential election. Trump loses recount and hand audit challenges. He begins a sustained campaign to pressure Georgia officials, including Governor Kemp, Secretary of State Raffensperger, and state legislators, to alter or reject the certified results."},{"date":"2021-01-02","title":"Trump calls Raffensperger — asks him to find 11,780 votes","summary":"Trump calls Raffensperger for approximately one hour. He asks Raffensperger to find 11,780 votes, cites debunked fraud claims, and implies Raffensperger faces risk by not complying. The call is recorded by Raffensperger's office."},{"date":"2021-01-03","title":"Washington Post reports the call — audio and transcript published","summary":"The Washington Post publishes an audio recording and transcript of the January 2 call. The call receives national and international attention. Multiple members of Congress call for investigations. Federal and state law enforcement begin reviewing whether laws were violated."},{"date":"2023-08-14","title":"Fulton County grand jury returns 41-count indictment","summary":"A Fulton County, Georgia grand jury indicts Trump and 18 co-defendants on 41 criminal counts. The indictment charges violations of Georgia's RICO statute, solicitation of election fraud, conspiracy, and false statements. It covers the Raffensperger call and the broader fake electors scheme."},{"date":"2023-10-01","title":"Sidney Powell, Jenna Ellis, Kenneth Chesebro plead guilty — agree to cooperate","summary":"Three attorneys central to the fake electors scheme plead guilty to reduced charges and agree to cooperate with the prosecution. Their cooperation provides testimony about the planning and coordination of the broader effort to overturn Georgia's certified election results."}],"location":{"name":"Atlanta, GA / Washington, D.C.","lat":33.749,"lng":-84.388},"custom":{"era":"post-presidency","posture":"active-litigation","warCrimeClassification":"potential","internationalLaw":[],"iccRelevance":false,"victims":"American democratic institutions and the rule of law; Georgia election officials subjected to sustained pressure to alter certified results; Georgia voters whose lawfully cast ballots Trump attempted to negate; future electoral processes threatened by normalization of direct presidential pressure on certification officials","structuredPerpetrators":[{"name":"Donald Trump","role":"President; called Secretary of State Raffensperger and asked him to find 11,780 votes; cited debunked fraud claims; suggested Raffensperger faced risk for not cooperating; indicted by Fulton County grand jury on 41 counts including RICO","institution":"White House"}],"updateLog":[{"date":"2023-08-14","summary":"Updated with August 2023 Fulton County indictment."}]}}