Source: JEFF KOWALSKY / Getty
A new report says Donald Trump was caught on tape personally pressuring electors in Michigan to not certify the 2020 presidential election.
A new recording of Donald Trump speaking to Michigan electors to get them not to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election was revealed to the public on Thursday (December 21). The call was made by then-President Trump and Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel on November 17, 2020, to Monica Palmer and William Hartmann, two Republican canvassers for Wayne County. Trump and McDaniel led off the conversation by saying the two would look “terrible” if they voted to certify the results after voicing opposition to the results in an earlier meeting.
“We’ve got to fight for our country,” Trump can be heard saying on the call. “We can’t let these people take our country away from us.” Later on in that same call, McDaniel implored Hartmann and Palmer to go home.”If you can go home tonight, do not sign it. … We will get you attorneys,” McDaniel said. Trump added, “We’ll take care of that,” also stating “Everyone knows Detroit is crooked as hell.”Palmer and Hartmann would go home without signing the official statement of votes for Wayne County and tried to rescind their votes in favor of certification claiming to have been pressured. Hartmann passed away in 2021, and Palmer has not returned any requests for comment.
The recording revelation comes as Trump is now facing four counts of criminal conspiracy for his attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election which led to Joe Biden becoming Commander-In-Chief, with the events in Michigan a core part of the case brought against him in federal court. Trump is also facing twelve counts of attempting to overturn election results in Georgia. It also becomes more damning for McDaniel, who resides in Wayne County. Marshall Cohen, a reporter for CNN, stated that the tape could be a boon to Special Counsel Jack Smith. “If he doesn’t have it, he definitely wants to get it,” Cohen said Thursday night. “It could be a huge piece of additional evidence.”
