Trump personally pressured two Republican officials to not certify election, says report

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Donald Trump personally pressured two Republican officials in Michigan to not certify the 2020 election result in the state, according to a report.

The then-president told the officials, both members of the Wayne County Board of Canvassers, in a 17 November 2020 phone call that they would look “terrible” if they certified the results.

According to The Detroit News, which obtained audio of the call, Mr Trump went on to tell the officials, “We’ve got to fight for our country.”

Mr Trump also reportedly told the officials, Monica Palmer and William Hartmann, that his team would “take care” of them and “We can’t let these people take our country away from us.”

RNC chairwoman Ronna McDaniel, a Michigan native, was also on the call and reportedly told the officials, “If you can go home tonight, do not sign it. … We will get you attorneys.”

Mr Trump added: “We’ll take care of that.”

The paper reported that both officials left the canvassers meeting without signing Wayne County’s official statement of votes, and the following day unsuccessfully tried to rescind their votes in favour of certification. Both officials claimed in legal affidavits that they had been pressured into voting.

Joe Biden beat Mr Trump by 154,000 votes in Michigan, paving the way for him to win the White House. Mr Trump faces four counts of criminal conspiracy to defraud the United States and its voters over his attempts to stay in power.

Recordings of the conversation were made by someone present for the conversation between Trump, McDaniel, Palmer and Hartman, The News reported.

Steven Cheung, a spokesperson for the Trump campaign, told the newspaper that the ex-president’s actions “were taken in furtherance of his duty as president of the United States to faithfully take care of the laws and ensure election integrity, including investigating the rigged and stolen 2020 presidential election.”

“President Trump and the American people have the constitutional right to free and fair elections,” added Mr Cheung.

The newspaper stated that neither Ms Palmer nor Ms McDaniel disputed a summary of the call when contacted.