Skip to content 
[ad_1]
Topline
Former President Donald Trump pushed two Republican members of Michigan’s Wayne County Board of Canvassers to not certify the 2020 presidential election, according to audio recordings reviewed by the Detroit News, which comes as Trump faces two election interference cases and disqualification from Colorado’s 2024 ballot.
Trump is currently navigating charges he received in two election interference cases. (AP … [+]
Key Facts
Trump told the canvassers, Monica Palmer and the late William Hartmann, that they’d look “terrible” for signing the election certification documents after they initially voted in opposition and later voted to approve the certification of Wayne County’s election results, the Detroit News reported, citing a November 2020 phone call that also involved Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel.
McDaniel reportedly told the canvassers to not sign the certification and that they would be provided with attorneys, backing comments by Trump, who said, “We can't let these people take our country away from us,” during the call.
The canvassers didn’t sign the official statement of votes for Wayne County, which is home to the city of Detroit, later making an unsuccessful attempt to rescind their votes in favor of certification and filing affidavits claiming they were pressured, according to the Detroit News.
Palmer and McDaniel, through a spokeswoman, didn’t dispute the call’s summary when it was presented to them by the Detroit News.
A spokesperson for Trump didn’t immediately respond to Forbes’ request for comment.
Big Number
18%. That’s the share of Michigan’s population that resides in Wayne County, where about 878,000 votes were cast in the 2020 presidential election, the Detroit News reported.
Key Background
President Joe Biden won the state of Michigan by about 150,000 votes. In Wayne County, the margin between Biden and Trump was far greater, with Biden pulling in nearly 600,000 votes to Trump’s 265,553. The report about the audio recordings comes just days after Trump was disqualified from Colorado’s 2024 presidential ballot. The Colorado Supreme Court ruled 4-3 the former president should be disqualified on the grounds of section three of the 14th Amendment, which bars people who have taken an oath of office and “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” against the U.S. from holding public office. However, the ruling may not have an immediate impact on the upcoming presidential election, as an appeal by Trump to the U.S. Supreme Court would pause it until the majority conservative court provides its own ruling. Trump is also facing charges in two election interference cases on state and federal levels.
Further Reading
Trump recorded pressuring Wayne County canvassers not to certify 2020 vote (The Detroit News)
Trump’s Total Charges Could Result In More Than 700 Years In Prison—Here's Why That's So Unlikely (Forbes)
[ad_2]
Source link
