TL/DR –
The Detroit News has reviewed a recording of a call former President Donald Trump made to Michigan county officials in 2020, in which he urged them not to certify the election results from Detroit. Trump’s actions were seen as an attempt to pressure local officials to interfere with an election, a pattern which he continued in Georgia and Arizona. Special counsel Jack Smith has charged Trump with four felonies pertaining to his alleged attempts to subvert the legitimate election results, with a trial scheduled for March.
Trump’s Attempted Interference in Michigan’s 2020 Election
The Detroit News analyzed a call recording of former President Donald Trump pressuring Michigan county officials in 2020 not to certify Detroit’s election results. This act was heavily condemned by election experts and Michigan Democrats.
Exact details of Trump’s words, as reported by the Detroit News, are now made public. RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel, also present on the call, urged officials not to sign the certification and offered them legal assistance.
Despite the attempt to retract their votes to certify by GOP officials from the Wayne County Board of Canvassars, Monica Palmer and William Hartmann, Michigan’s state canvassing board still certified the results.
Trump’s efforts in Michigan mirror his broader pattern of pressurizing state officials to overturn the 2020 election results. This includes an intercepted call where he urged Georgia’s secretary of state to find enough votes to overturn the results and multiple calls to top officials in Arizona.
Trump was charged with four felonies by Special Counsel Jack Smith, including the use of deceit to manipulate state officials into subverting legitimate election results. The trial is scheduled for March.
In defense of the allegations, Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung asserted that Trump’s actions aimed to preserve election integrity. McDaniel also maintained her belief in the need for an audit based on existing evidence.
Trump repeatedly insisted on the call that the Republicans were “cheated on this election” and made false claims about the presence of more votes than people in Detroit. However, the US Census Bureau refutes this with data showing over 1.7 million residents in Wayne County, Michigan, while only 878,102 people voted.
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