Kara Sears
In January 2021, Donald Trump was accused of breaking the law in Georgia after a phone call with Brad Raffensperger, the Georgia Secretary of State. In the call, Trump asked Raffensperger to find enough votes to overturn the election outcome in the state. Legal experts and Democratic lawmakers called for a criminal investigation, arguing that Trump's actions were tantamount to criminal conduct. Trump was also accused of violating state criminal law and federal law.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Date | 2021-01-05 |
| Who was involved | Trump, Brad Raffensperger, Secretary of State, Gabriel Sterling, Nick Akerman, Liz Cheney, Donald Ayer, Rudolph W. Giuliani, Robert Cheeley, Ray Smith III |
| What happened | Trump asked Raffensperger to "find" votes to overturn the Biden victory in Georgia |
| Laws broken | Federal election fraud statutes, Georgia state law, state criminal law |
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What You'll Learn
- Trump's call to Georgia's Raffensperger may have breached federal election fraud statutes
- Trump's call to Raffensperger may have violated a Georgia law that makes it illegal to solicit election fraud
- Trump's call to Raffensperger may have violated a Georgia law that makes it illegal to deprive the state of a fair election process
- Trump's supporters carried out a plan to vote for a false slate of pro-Trump electors
- Trump's supporters sent a forged document to Congress claiming false electors were legitimate
Trump's call to Georgia's Raffensperger may have breached federal election fraud statutes
Trump's call may also have broken federal law, which states that anyone who "knowingly and willfully deprives, defrauds or attempts to deprive or defraud the residents of a state of a fair and impartially conducted election process" is breaking the law.
Legal experts and Democratic lawmakers have asserted that Trump's actions were tantamount to criminal conduct and should open him to fresh legal scrutiny. Liz Cheney called the phone call "deeply troubling", and former deputy attorney general Donald Ayer said it was a "horrendous effort to undermine our system of government".
Trump's call to Raffensperger is not the only instance of him attempting to overturn the election results in Georgia. Rudolph W. Giuliani, a lawyer for Trump, was charged in an indictment that bundled together several efforts by Trump and his allies to reverse the election results.
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Trump's call to Raffensperger may have violated a Georgia law that makes it illegal to solicit election fraud
On 2 January 2021, Trump made a call to Georgia's Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, urging him to "find" enough votes to reverse the election outcome in the state. This call may have violated a Georgia law that makes it illegal to solicit election fraud.
During the call, Trump told Raffensperger: "And there’s nothing wrong with saying, you know, um, that you’ve recalculated." He also demanded that Georgia officials "find 11,780 votes" to overturn the Biden victory.
Legal experts and Democratic lawmakers have asserted that Trump's actions were tantamount to criminal conduct and should be subject to legal scrutiny. An Atlanta criminal defence lawyer, Leigh Ann Webster, stated that Trump's actions "clearly violate Georgia statutes", specifically citing the state law that makes it illegal for anyone who "solicits, requests, commands, importunes or otherwise attempts to cause the other person to engage" in election fraud.
Trump's call to Raffensperger may also have violated federal law, which prohibits anyone from "knowingly and willfully depriving, defrauding or attempting to deprive or defraud the residents of a state of a fair and impartially conducted election process".
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Trump's call to Raffensperger may have violated a Georgia law that makes it illegal to deprive the state of a fair election process
On 2 January 2021, two weeks before the end of his presidency, Donald Trump made a one-hour phone call to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. During the call, Trump attempted to pressure Raffensperger into overturning the election results in Georgia, which he lost to Joe Biden.
Trump asked Raffensperger to "find 11,780 votes", the number he needed to reverse the election outcome in the state. According to a recording of the conversation obtained by the *Washington Post*, Trump told Raffensperger, "And there's nothing wrong with saying, you know, um, that you've recalculated".
Trump's actions may have violated a Georgia law that makes it illegal to deprive the state of a fair election process. Legal experts and Democratic lawmakers have asserted that Trump's conduct was tantamount to criminal conduct and should open him to legal scrutiny.
Nick Akerman, an assistant special prosecutor during the Watergate investigation, said Trump's call to Raffensperger is "not much different" from wiretapped conversations involving Mafia bosses.
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Trump's supporters carried out a plan to vote for a false slate of pro-Trump electors
In 2021, a phone call between then-President Trump and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger spurred demands for a criminal investigation. In the call, Trump asked Raffensperger to “find” enough votes to reverse the election outcome in the state, which legal experts and Democratic lawmakers asserted was tantamount to criminal conduct.
Trump's supporters also carried out a plan to vote for a false slate of pro-Trump electors. This was part of a wider effort by Trump and his allies to reverse the election results in Georgia. The scheme involved sending a forged document to Congress, claiming that the false electors were legitimate. This plan was one of several charges brought against Trump and his associates in an indictment in 2023.
Under Georgia state law, it is illegal for anyone to "solicit, request, command, importune or otherwise attempt to cause the other person to engage" in election fraud. Trump's request to Raffensperger to "find" additional votes appears to violate this statute, according to Atlanta criminal defence lawyer Leigh Ann Webster.
At the federal level, anyone who "knowingly and willfully deprives, defrauds or attempts to deprive or defraud the residents of a state of a fair and impartially conducted election process" is breaking the law. Trump's actions during the phone call with Raffensperger may have breached two federal election fraud statutes, according to lawmakers Ted Lieu and Kathleen Rice.
Trump's call to Raffensperger was described as "not normal" and "out of place" by Georgia's voting system manager, Gabriel Sterling. Nick Akerman, an assistant special prosecutor during the Watergate investigation, compared the call to conversations involving Mafia bosses.
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Trump's supporters sent a forged document to Congress claiming false electors were legitimate
It has been alleged that Trump broke the law in Georgia by attempting to pressure Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to "find" enough votes to overturn the election outcome in the state. Trump told Raffensperger:
> "And there’s nothing wrong with saying, you know, um, that you’ve recalculated."
Legal experts and Democratic lawmakers have asserted that Trump's actions were tantamount to criminal conduct and should open him to legal scrutiny. An Atlanta criminal defence lawyer, Leigh Ann Webster, has said that Trump's actions "clearly violate Georgia statutes", citing a state law that makes it illegal for anyone who "solicits, requests, commands, importunes or otherwise attempts to cause the other person to engage" in election fraud.
In addition to this, Trump's supporters sent a forged document to Congress claiming that false pro-Trump electors were legitimate. Rudolph W. Giuliani, a lawyer for Mr Trump, was charged in the indictment, along with Robert Cheeley and Ray Smith III, two other Trump lawyers.
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Frequently asked questions
Yes, Trump broke the law in Georgia by attempting to pressure Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to overturn his election defeat in the state.
Trump broke state criminal law in Georgia, as well as federal election fraud statutes.
Trump's actions spurred demands for a criminal investigation and fresh legal scrutiny, with some calling for his impeachment.
Rudolph W. Giuliani, Robert Cheeley, and Ray Smith III, who were lawyers for Trump, were also charged in the indictment.
