Trump Pressured Georgia Republican To “Find” Votes For Him In Leaked Audio, And People Are Calling It An Impeachable Offense

Leaked audio of a phone call between President Trump and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in which the president requested that his fellow Republican somehow “find” more votes that would turn the Georgia results in his favor has people calling for his impeachment.

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During the hour-long call, originally obtained by The Washington Post, Trump pushed debunked conspiracy theories, repeatedly insisted he won Georgia, vaguely threatened Raffensperger if he didn’t do what was being asked, and spelled out for him that he just needed him to find 11,780 votes — one more than Biden defeated Trump by in the state.

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“So what are we going to do here, folks?” Trump asked at one point. “I only need 11,000 votes. Fellas, I need 11,000 votes. Give me a break.”

Trump was also recorded warning Raffensperger that not “finding” the votes was a “big risk” for both him and his lawyer, Ryan Germany, and suggested he would suddenly be “respected, really respected,” if Georgia’s votes can be recalculated in Trump’s favor before Tuesday’s Senate runoff.

Wow. WaPo just released a recording showing President Trump attempting to blackmail Georgia’s Secretary of State to overturn the election.

Listen: pic.twitter.com/33SO6Tyx8u

— Keith Edwards (@keithedwards) January 3, 2021

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This tape would be utterly damning if it involved any other presidential administration. It would be the end. But Trump and his administration have gotten a free pass so many times, that there’s no reason to believe this will do much more than trend on Twitter for a couple of days.

Still, that hasn’t stopped people for calling for Trump to be impeached — again — for this brazen attempt to steal the election — the same thing he has repeatedly accused Biden and the Democrats of doing with absolutely no evidence whatsoever.

This tape demonstrates impeachable offenses. It is unAmerican and unDemocratic. Trump has had his shot to have his complaints heard. In court. He lost. Many, many times. Browbeating election officials to try to “find” votes for him is Soviet. https://t.co/LvWxfjO4nK

— Neal Katyal (@neal_katyal) January 3, 2021

1. In a sane world this call is impeachable.

2. It magnifies the damage that Hawley and company are attempting to inflict on our republic.

3. We should be grateful that POTUS has no power over the Georgia SecState and that the SecState held firm.

https://t.co/1OX3Ecz2uI

— David French (@DavidAFrench) January 3, 2021

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Impeachable? No doubt. One of the most outrageous crimes we have ever seen from a senior official? Certainly. And, almost certainly not the worst we will see from Trump in the next 17 days. (Or for that matter after…as files are opened and hidden crimes revealed.) https://t.co/T8djqzhS2V

— David Rothkopf (@djrothkopf) January 4, 2021

Yes, Trump should be impeached again. But Republicans should actually remove him this time.

— Scott Dworkin (@funder) January 4, 2021

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This is why Donald Trump was impeached. This is why the American people fired @realDonaldTrump: he will lie, cheat and steal to maintain power.

Thank you to Secretary of State Raffensperger for standing up for truth and democracy in the face of a delusional, dangerous @POTUS. https://t.co/nGHJ1l8bbq

— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) January 3, 2021

.@AOC: “I absolutely think it’s an impeachable offense and if it was up to me, there would be articles on the floor quite quickly but he, I mean he is trying to— he is attacking our very election. He’s attacking our very election.” https://t.co/D6mkRjdL2r

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) January 4, 2021

Which of my Republican colleagues will stand up to President Trump’s call to “find” 11,780 votes in Georgia?

Or were their calls for election integrity always just hollow talking points to appease the president?

— Sherrod Brown (@SenSherrodBrown) January 4, 2021

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Even Carl Bernstein, one of the reporters who broke the Watergate scandal, has spoken out about the Trump tape.

Bernstein also says Trump should be forced to resign over the call.

— Amy Siskind (@Amy_Siskind) January 3, 2021

****Carl Bernstein*** on @cnn just called this ***the ultimate smoking gun tape.**** let that sink in.

— Jason Kint (@jason_kint) January 3, 2021

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While not everyone is blatantly calling for impeachment — many are far too cynical to think that will serve any purpose whatsoever at this point — the tape has still made quite a splash on Twitter.

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i’m generally opposed to someone being surreptitiously taped on a phone call…but not this one, folks!

— Monica Lewinsky (she/her) (@MonicaLewinsky) January 3, 2021

Whether anything actually comes of this, or whether any Republicans turn against a president who will go down in history as doing everything he can to undermine democracy to maintain his own power remains to be seen. Again: this wouldn’t even be a question under any other administration. But with Trump? Don’t hold your breath.

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*First Published: January 4, 2021, 7:24 am