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Trump pressured Georgia governor to help overturn the election in call
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Trump asked Kemp to call a special session and convince state legislators to select their own electors that would support him, according to the source. He also asked the Republican governor to order an audit of absentee ballot signatures.
Kemp explained that he did not have the authority to order such an audit and denied the request to call a special session, the source said.
The White House declined to comment on the call, which was first reported by The Washington Post.
The President appeared to reference the call in a tweet Saturday, attacking Kemp and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and calling for a signature audit of the absentee ballot envelopes in the state — while making false or misleading claims about the potential process. The governor, in response, tweeted that he has already “publicly called for a signature audit three times.”
Trump’s call to Kemp, his latest attempt to interfere in the results of the 2020 election, came hours before the President’s visit to the state to rally in support of Republican Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler ahead of January’s Senate runoff elections.
Kemp spokesman Cody Hall confirmed the governor spoke with the President, but, when asked about the conversation, only said that Trump offered his condolences on the death of Harrison Deal, a young Loeffler campaign staffer.
Hall previously told CNN that, despite the President’s pressure for Kemp to intervene in the state’s elections process, Georgia law prohibits him from doing so.
“Georgia law prohibits the Governor from interfering in elections. The Secretary of State, who is an elected constitutional officer, has oversight over elections that cannot be overridden by executive order,” Hall said. “As the Governor has said repeatedly, he will continue to follow the law and encourage the Secretary of State to take reasonable steps — including a sample audit of signatures — to restore trust and address serious issues that have been raised.”
Trump’s refusal to concede and his continued push of false claims of fraud in Georgia has some Republicans uneasy and concerned that the President could depress turnout in the state’s crucial runoff elections that will help determine the balance of power in Congress.
And despite the pummeling from their party leader, Raffensperger and other Georgia election officials have pushed back against Trump’s claims of fraud in the state.
Biden won Georgia by more than 12,000 votes, becoming the first Democratic presidential nominee to win the Peach State in nearly three decades. Kemp certified the results of Biden’s victory on November 20, following a statewide audit, which included a hand-count of the nearly 5 million ballots cast in the election.
CNN previously reported that Trump had recently bashed Kemp, who is a supporter of his, as a “moron” and a “nut job” during another phone call. And earlier this week, the President publicly criticized the governor in an interview on Fox News, saying he was “ashamed” he had endorsed Kemp.
The governor does not plan to attend Trump’s rally in Valdosta, Georgia, Saturday night, due to the sudden death of a close friend of the family, Hall told CNN.
This story has been updated with additional details and context.
CNN’s Ryan Nobles and Veronica Stracqualursi contributed to this report.
