Donald Trump Pressured Michigan Election Officials Not to Certify the 2020 Election and It Was Caught on Tape … – PEOPLE
Donald Trumpallegedly personally pressured election officials in Michigan not to certify the 2020 presidential election and it was caught on tape, according to new reporting by The Detroit News.
The outlet published a story on Thursday with echoes of a similar situation in Fulton County, Ga. where Trump called Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in Jan. 2021 to demand he "find 11,780 votes" to change the electoral outcome in his favor after Joe Biden was determined to have won the state.
In Michigan, Trump reportedly spoke by phone to two Republican members of the Wayne County Board of Canvassers on Nov. 17, 2020, pressuring them not to sign the certification of the 2020 presidential election.
The Detroit News reports that in the call, which was recorded and reviewed by the outlet, Trump told the two election officials: "We've got to fight for our country," and "We can't let these people take our country away from us," while telling them they would look "terrible" if they signed the certification, as legally required.
The outlet reports that the phone call also included Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel, who said on the call, "If you can go home tonight, do not sign it. ... We will get you attorneys."
Trump, the outlet reports, added: "We'll take care of that."
The two canvassers Monica Palmer and William Hartmann ultimately refused that night to certify the votes cast in Wayne County, which is Michigan's largest. The move made it impossible for the county to officially declare the winner of the election that night. Later, the two relented after increasing pressure.
The recorded call is likely to figure into the federal investigation of Trump's alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
In August, Trump was indicted on four criminal counts by a federal grand jury and, per theindictment, charged with one count each of conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights.
The indictment alleges that Trump, after losing the 2020 presidential election, "was determined to remain in power." The indictment also lists several unnamed co-conspirators, including four attorneys, a Justice Department official, and a political consultant who "helped implement a plan to submit fraudulent slates of presidential electors to obstruct the certification" of votes.
"So for more than two months following election day on November 3, 2020, the Defendant spread lies that there had been outcome-determinative fraud in the election and that he had actually won," it reads.
Also in August, Trump was indicted in Georgia, where he was charged with 13 felonycounts: racketeering (violation of the Georgia RICO Act); three counts of solicitation of violation of oath by a public officer; conspiracy to commit impersonating a public officer; two counts conspiracy to commit forgery in the first degree; two counts of conspiracy to commit false statements and writings; conspiracy to commit filing false documents; filing false documents; and two counts of false statements and writings.
The Georgia investigation also hinges on Trump and his allies' behavior following hisloss of the popular vote in the state, and on the call he made to Raffensperger to demand he "find 11,780 votes" to change the outcome.
Never miss a story sign up forPEOPLE's free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer.
Thetwice-impeachedformer president has been indicted four times over the past year the first one making him the only U.S. president to face criminal charges, and the next two further distinguishing him as the only president to face federal charges.
Continued here:
Donald Trump Pressured Michigan Election Officials Not to Certify the 2020 Election and It Was Caught on Tape ... - PEOPLE
- Donald Trump is throttling Americas oil industry - The Economist - May 11th, 2025 [May 11th, 2025]
- Donald Trump prizes more Gulf investment in the US - BBC - May 11th, 2025 [May 11th, 2025]
- Donald Trump Vows to Reduce Prescription Drug Costs by Up to 80 Percent - Newsweek - May 11th, 2025 [May 11th, 2025]
- What is habeas corpus and why might Donald Trump want to suspend it? - BBC - May 11th, 2025 [May 11th, 2025]
- Donald Trump calls for 20,000 new officers to aid with deportations - BBC - May 11th, 2025 [May 11th, 2025]
- Donald Trump is a bigger threat to UK than terrorists, poll says - politico.eu - May 8th, 2025 [May 8th, 2025]
- Donald Trump to announce 'major trade deal' with a big and highly respected nation - Times of India - May 8th, 2025 [May 8th, 2025]
- Donald Trump picks the wrong trade fight with China - The Economist - April 30th, 2025 [April 30th, 2025]
- Donald Trump says he will be talking to Australias prime minister about tariffs - The Guardian - April 30th, 2025 [April 30th, 2025]
- Donald Trump Names His Dream Successor for Pope Francis Ahead of the Papal Conclave - People.com - April 30th, 2025 [April 30th, 2025]
- Giants say they had no conversations with Donald Trump about Saquon Barkley - NBC Sports - April 30th, 2025 [April 30th, 2025]
- Donald Trump is proving disastrous for big tech - The Economist - April 30th, 2025 [April 30th, 2025]
- Opinion | Donald Trump Is Selling the White House to the Highest Bidder - The New York Times - April 27th, 2025 [April 27th, 2025]
- 'Kicking butt' or 'going too fast'? Donald Trump voters reflect on 100 days - BBC - April 27th, 2025 [April 27th, 2025]
- Donald Trump's approval rating takes a hit as he reaches 100 days: New polls - USA Today - April 27th, 2025 [April 27th, 2025]
- Experts On Russia Say Donald Trump Is Wrong About The War In Ukraine - Forbes - April 27th, 2025 [April 27th, 2025]
- Donald Trump went after one of America's top law firms. Its decision to fight back took just two hours. - Business Insider - April 27th, 2025 [April 27th, 2025]
- Sweeping change. Donald Trump voters reflect on controversial first 100 days of second term. - Chicago Tribune - April 27th, 2025 [April 27th, 2025]
- Donald Trump wants celebrities to kiss the ring. Bill Maher did: wholl be next? | Emma Brockes - The Guardian - April 25th, 2025 [April 25th, 2025]
- Donald Trump's trip to Pope Francis' funeral puts a sharper focus on their clashes over the years - AP News - April 25th, 2025 [April 25th, 2025]
- Donald Trump Is Tanking One of Americas Greatest Exports in the Middle of a Trade War - Slate - April 25th, 2025 [April 25th, 2025]
- 'Reality bites Donald Trump in the you know where': China contradicts the White House over tariffs - MSNBC News - April 25th, 2025 [April 25th, 2025]
- Donald Trump's "Objectively Embarrassing And Hilarious" Message To Vladimir Putin Is Now A Meme - Yahoo - April 25th, 2025 [April 25th, 2025]
- The Nobel is just the start: 16 imagined victories for Donald Trump | Ariel Dorfman - The Guardian - April 21st, 2025 [April 21st, 2025]
- Is Donald Trump Breaking the Law? Seven Experts Weigh In. - The Free Press - April 21st, 2025 [April 21st, 2025]
- JD Vance: Donald Trump's Global 'Bad Cop' In His First 100 Days In Office - NDTV - April 21st, 2025 [April 21st, 2025]
- What is the Insurrection Act? What To Know as Donald Trump Deadline Hits - Newsweek - April 21st, 2025 [April 21st, 2025]
- Vince Vaughn Visits Donald Trump and The White House Shares Wedding Crashers Parody Poster - Variety - April 21st, 2025 [April 21st, 2025]
- President Donald Trump Is Saving Social Security Hundreds of Millions of Dollars per Year. But Is It Enough to Prevent Benefit Cuts? - Yahoo Finance - April 21st, 2025 [April 21st, 2025]
- We knew Donald Trump is bad at business. Now the world does, too. | Sheneman cartoon - NJ.com - April 14th, 2025 [April 14th, 2025]
- Donald Trump is now badly wounded. Europe and the UK can seize an advantage - The Guardian - April 12th, 2025 [April 12th, 2025]
- Bill Maher Says Donald Trump Was Gracious and Willing to Listen During White House Visit - hollywoodreporter.com - April 12th, 2025 [April 12th, 2025]
- Bill Maher Recounts Surprising Meeting With Gracious and Measured Donald Trump - TV Insider - April 12th, 2025 [April 12th, 2025]
- Bill Maher's full monologue on his Donald Trump meeting: Read the transcript - USA Today - April 12th, 2025 [April 12th, 2025]
- Donald Trump's tariffs on China, EU and more, at a glance - BBC - April 12th, 2025 [April 12th, 2025]
- Donald Trump Says 'Market Is Going To Boom,' Claiming '$6-7 Trillion' Worth Of Inflows Will Come After The Worst Selloff Since 2020 - Yahoo Finance - April 5th, 2025 [April 5th, 2025]
- Live updates: 'Hands Off!' protesters rally against Donald Trump, Elon Musk - The Hill - April 5th, 2025 [April 5th, 2025]
- Donald Trump's Tariff Formula 'Based on an Error'Conservative Think Tank - Newsweek - April 5th, 2025 [April 5th, 2025]
- The ridiculous real story behind the tariff plan that turned Donald Trump into a global disaster - MSNBC News - April 5th, 2025 [April 5th, 2025]
- "Hang Tough, It Won't Be Easy": Donald Trump To Americans Amid Tariff War - NDTV - April 5th, 2025 [April 5th, 2025]
- This Economic Paradox Nearly Took Down Three Presidents. Is Donald Trump Next? - Politico - April 5th, 2025 [April 5th, 2025]
- Donald Trump says he is very angry with Vladimir Putin over Ukraine - The Guardian US - March 30th, 2025 [March 30th, 2025]
- Donald Trump: Is Irish America moving towards the Republican Party? - BBC.com - March 30th, 2025 [March 30th, 2025]
- Globalisation will triumph over Donald Trump - Financial Times - March 30th, 2025 [March 30th, 2025]
- Donald Trump's Approval Rating Over Economy Plunges to New Low - Newsweek - March 28th, 2025 [March 28th, 2025]
- Called a 'scab' during the campaign, Donald Trump wins UAW backing on tariffs - Detroit Free Press - March 28th, 2025 [March 28th, 2025]
- Donald Trump is moving fast and breaking things, but that may result in a better US | Simon Jenkins - The Guardian - March 28th, 2025 [March 28th, 2025]
- Donald Trump Has Invented Something New and Chilling - Yahoo - March 28th, 2025 [March 28th, 2025]
- Column: Thank you, Donald Trump, for giving me my dad back - - The Daily Tar Heel - March 26th, 2025 [March 26th, 2025]
- Donald Trump's Approval Rating Is Negative With Nearly Every Pollster - Newsweek - March 26th, 2025 [March 26th, 2025]
- Andrii Smytsniuk | Condolences to Kyiv: Ukraine, King Solomon, and Donald Trump - The Daily Pennsylvanian - March 26th, 2025 [March 26th, 2025]
- Whoopi Goldberg has chilling warning about Donald Trump on The View - PennLive - March 26th, 2025 [March 26th, 2025]
- Donald Trump threatens US tariffs on countries buying Venezuelan oil - BBC.com - March 25th, 2025 [March 25th, 2025]
- Donald Trump Calls George Clooney a Second Rate Movie Star After Clooney Calls Out the Government for Trying to Make Journalists Smaller: They Dont... - March 25th, 2025 [March 25th, 2025]
- People Can't Help But Giggle Over This Portrait Of Donald Trump That He Desperately Wants Removed From The Colorado State Capitol - Yahoo... - March 25th, 2025 [March 25th, 2025]
- Donald Trump will soon mark 100 days in power - where does his opposition stand? - Sky News - March 22nd, 2025 [March 22nd, 2025]
- Putin said he prayed for his friend Donald Trump after 2024 assassination attempt, U.S. envoy says - NBC News - March 22nd, 2025 [March 22nd, 2025]
- Donald Trump and John Roberts: A president, a chief justice and a judiciary under pressure - Reuters - March 22nd, 2025 [March 22nd, 2025]
- Prediction: President Donald Trump Is Going to Break His Social Security Promise, and These 16 Words Prove It - The Motley Fool - March 22nd, 2025 [March 22nd, 2025]
- Full List of Names Donald Trump Has Stripped of Security Clearance - Newsweek - March 22nd, 2025 [March 22nd, 2025]
- Social Security: What Donald Trump And Elon Musk Are Doing About Entitlement Program - Forbes - March 13th, 2025 [March 13th, 2025]
- Why John Mearsheimer Thinks Donald Trump Is Right on Ukraine - The New Yorker - March 13th, 2025 [March 13th, 2025]
- What the U.S. ceasefire proposal means for Ukraine, Russia, Europe and Donald Trump - The Conversation Indonesia - March 13th, 2025 [March 13th, 2025]
- Well, It Looks Like We Know What Donald Trump Will Do About Daylight Saving Time Now - Yahoo - March 7th, 2025 [March 7th, 2025]
- Jimmy Carter Reminds Us of Political Integrity; Donald Trump and Corporate America Remain Committed to Darkness - Progressive.org - March 7th, 2025 [March 7th, 2025]
- Donald Trump Supporters Are Waking Up To The Reality Of Their Ballot Choices, And The Stories Are A Loooooot - Yahoo - February 20th, 2025 [February 20th, 2025]
- It took Donald Trump less than a decade to turn the US toward Putins Russia - CNN - February 20th, 2025 [February 20th, 2025]
- Are We Still Friends?: How Donald Trump Is Unraveling the Western Alliance - Vanity Fair - February 20th, 2025 [February 20th, 2025]
- Prediction: President Donald Trump Will Break His Social Security Promise and Propose Cuts -- Just Not in the Way You Might Think - The Motley Fool - February 16th, 2025 [February 16th, 2025]
- It Pays to Be a Friend of Donald Trump - The FP - February 16th, 2025 [February 16th, 2025]
- Donald Trump's 'Drastic' Funding Cuts Face Republican Opposition - Newsweek - February 16th, 2025 [February 16th, 2025]
- President Donald Trump Hangs His Framed Mugshot Outside the Oval Office - E! Online - E! NEWS - February 16th, 2025 [February 16th, 2025]
- Donald Trump wants states and cities to do as they are told - The Economist - February 16th, 2025 [February 16th, 2025]
- Donald Trump Wants Reciprocity in Trade: Heres a Closer Look - Council on Foreign Relations - February 16th, 2025 [February 16th, 2025]
- Interview with President Donald Trump airing ahead of Super Bowl 59: How to watch - USA TODAY - February 9th, 2025 [February 9th, 2025]
- Donald Trump set to make history at the Super Bowl. Heres why hell hate kick-off. - MLive.com - February 9th, 2025 [February 9th, 2025]
- Donald Trump golfs with Tiger Woods ahead of expected Super Bowl LIX visit - New York Post - February 9th, 2025 [February 9th, 2025]
- The Observer view: Vengeful and reckless, Donald Trump must not go unchallenged | Observer editorial - The Guardian - February 9th, 2025 [February 9th, 2025]
- Donald Trump will be at Super Bowl LIX, and he is not happy with the rules - PennLive - February 9th, 2025 [February 9th, 2025]
- Why Chip Roy is one of Donald Trump's biggest threats - POLITICO - January 24th, 2025 [January 24th, 2025]