Trump Pressured Michigan Canvassers Not To Certify 2020 Election, Newly Released Audio Shows

There is evidence that former President Donald Trump exerted pressure on Michigan canvassers to prevent the certification of the 2020 presidential election.

As reported by the Detroit News, the phone call recordings reviewed reveal that Trump personally urged Monica Palmer and William Hartmann, both Republican members of the Wayne County Board of Canvassers, not to sign the certification documents. The call took place shortly after a meeting of the Wayne County Board of Canvassers on November 17, 2020.

In the call, Trump emphasized the need to “fight for our country” and urged Palmer and Hartmann not to let others “take our country away” from them. He warned them that if they signed the certification documents it would reflect poorly on them. As a result of this pressure, Palmer and Hartmann did not sign the official statement of votes for Wayne County on that night. They later attempted to rescind their votes in favor of certification, but their efforts were unsuccessful.

The report also mentions the involvement of RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel in the call. McDaniel instructed the two canvassers not to sign the documents and assured them that legal assistance would be provided. In a statement, McDaniel acknowledged her previous statements about the need for an audit but did not dispute the facts of the call.

The recording of the call was made by an individual present with Palmer and Hartmann in the conversation. The RNC declined to provide further comment on the matter. A spokesperson for the former president, Steven Cheung, stated that Trump’s actions were motivated by his responsibility as the president of the United States to ensure election integrity and investigate alleged election irregularities.

Trump currently faces multiple federal charges related to election interference in the 2020 presidential election. He has also been indicted in Georgia for his attempts to overturn his loss in the state’s election, which includes a recorded phone call to Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in which Trump urged him to “find 11,780 votes.”

In July, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel (D) filed forgery and felony charges against 16 Republican activists who falsely claimed to be duly appointed presidential electors for the state after the 2020 election. These charges represent the first criminal actions taken in response to the efforts made by Trump allies to designate alternate slates of electors.

The scheme that involved these alternate slates of electors served as the basis for Trump’s final attempt to retain power and seek to create a contest or crisis in the congressional certification of the Electoral College votes on January 6, 2021. Trump utilized the existence of these “competing” slates of electors to pressure his Vice President Mike Pence to block Biden’s election.

On November 23, 2020, Michigan election officials confirmed Joe Biden‘s victory in the state by a margin of 154,000 votes.

This week, Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pennsylvania) was ordered to hand over to prosecutors hundreds of text messages he sent on January 6, 2021, during the Capitol riot.