Trump phone call to Georgia election chief: Democrats want the FBI to investigate
A day after audio surfaced of President Trump pressuring Georgia’s election chief to overturn the state’s presidential election results, Democrats asked the FBI director to launch a criminal investigation into the president.
The request for an FBI probe came as Trump planned to speak at a Georgia rally Monday night ahead of the crucial Senate runoff elections — as the majority in the Senate hangs in the balance.
On Sunday, a taped call between Trump and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger revealed the president pressured the election official to “find” 11,780 votes to help swing the election his way against President-elect Joe Biden.
Following that bombshell audio, House Democrats are calling for FBI Director Christopher Wray to open a criminal investigation into Trump.
California Congressman Ted Lieu and New York Congresswoman Kathleen Rice on Monday wrote a letter to the FBI director, alleging that Trump “engaged in solicitation of, or conspiracy to commit, a number of election crimes.”
“We ask you to open an immediate criminal investigation into the President,” they wrote.
Lieu tweeted about the criminal referral to the FBI, writing, “As former prosecutors, @RepKathleenRice and I believe @realDonaldTrump committed multiple crimes during the phone call in which he threatened GA SoS Raffensperger to ‘find 11,780’ votes or to ‘recalculate.’ Today we made a criminal referral to the @FBI.”
More than 100 Republican congressmen and at least a dozen GOP senators have vowed to challenge electoral votes in key states where they continue to push unconfirmed claims of voter fraud.
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker on Monday slammed ongoing efforts by some of his fellow Republicans — including Trump — to overturn the presidential election.
“President-elect Joe Biden won the election fair and square,” Baker said at a press conference, later adding, “I think the noise and accusations and commentary about challenging this or that is an affront to democracy and to the voice of the people. It is my hope that these initiatives fail.”
“I can’t for the life of me figure out how people in my party can say all the elections in which their folks won are fine, but the only one they seem to have any concerns about are at the top of the ticket,” the governor said.
Congress convenes in a joint session on Wednesday to confirm Biden’s 306-232 Electoral College win.
Herald wire services were used in this report.
from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/3b6YUif
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