Dem
51
GOP
49
By now, everyone who is paying attention to politics is aware of the infamous phone call between Donald Trump and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to "find" another 11,780 votes for Trump. Now the Detroit News has found an audio recording made just after the 2020 election in which Trump strongly urged the two Republican members of the Wayne County canvassing board, Monica Palmer and William Hartmann, not to certify the election results. Wayne County is the home of Detroit and the most populous county in Michigan, a state that Trump narrowly lost. Previously, the board members were asked about the phone call and they said Trump was merely thanking them for their service helping to certify the election. The new recording shows that they were lying through their teeth. Trump was most certainly trying to convince them not to certify the election.
Among other things, Trump said: "We've got to fight for our country. We can't let these people take our country away from us." He didn't specify who "these people" are. He probably didn't have to. Wayne County is 47.8% white, 37.3% Black, 6.6% Latino, 3.6% Asian, and 4.0% mixed race.
Trump is not the only one implicated by the call. RNC Chair Ronna Romney McDaniel was also on the line. She said: "If you can go home tonight, do not sign it. ... We will get you attorneys." Trump then added to that: "We'll take care of that." They listened and went home without signing the certification. The next day, they attempted to rescind their votes to certify, but were unsuccessful. Had they been successful, the winner of Michigan would be been uncertain and the Republican-controlled state legislature could have jumped in and pick their own preferred electors. When asked later if Trump had pressured them, they said no.
Although we doubt Jack Smith is a subscriber to the Detroit News, there is a pretty good chance he is aware of this story now since it is all over the place. We wouldn't be surprised if he gave Palmer a call and requested that she drop by for a pleasant chat. He might just be curious as to why she tried to rescind her vote the next day, after having talked to Trump. Getting Hartmann to show up will be tougher. He died in 2021. What Smith already knows is that the timestamps on the recordings, whose source has not been released, are consistent with the phone records he has subpoenaed from Verizon. The recording started at 9:55 p.m. The phone records show that the call lasted from 9:53 p.m. to 10:04 p.m., just after the board met.
Chris Thomas, a lawyer who served as Michigan's elections director for over 30 years, said that when someone offers a public official something of value (e.g., free legal services) for not performing a required duty, it raises legal issues. When Smith has his chat with Palmer, he might just bring that up. (V)