Article content continued
“He was unwilling, or unable, to answer questions such as the ‘ballots under table’ scam, ballot destruction, out of state ‘voters’, dead voters, and more. He has no clue!” Trump tweeted.
Raffensperger responded on Twitter: “Respectfully, President Trump: What you’re saying is not true. The truth will come out.”
‘POTENTIALLY CRIMINAL’
News of Saturday’s call drew immediate criticism from congressional Democrats, including Representative Adam Schiff, chairman of the House intelligence committee, who said it could amount to an illegal act.
“Trump’s contempt for democracy is laid bare. Once again. On tape,” Schiff wrote on Twitter. “Pressuring an election official to ‘find’ the votes so he can win is potentially criminal, And another flagrant abuse of power by a corrupt man who would be a despot, if we allowed him. We will not.”
There is a strong case that Trump violated a Georgia law against soliciting election fraud, as well as a similar federal law, according to Anthony Michael Kreis, a law professor at Georgia State University.
“If any other person did this – someone else with power to leverage over an election official – there is no doubt in my mind that at the very least a criminal investigation would be opened right away,” said Kreis, adding that he thought that was unlikely under Georgia prosecutors or the Biden administration.
“There just does not seem to be the political will for that,” he said.
The call came days before U.S. Senator Ted Cruz is set to lead several of Trump’s allies in a long-shot bid to disrupt the formal recognition of Biden’s win when Electoral College results are tallied in Congress on Jan. 6.
