PRESIDENT TRUMP'S EARLY PRESSURE ON PUBLIC SERVANTS
To carry out his plan, President Trump, Rudolph Giuliani, and other surrogates of President Trump publicly and privately sought assistance from State and local officials whom they assumed would help as Republicans on the same team with the "same goal."[60] Some helped. Others didn't.
On November 12th, U.S. Representative Tim Walberg (R-MI) sent an email to President Trump's Executive Assistant Molly Michael, describing a request he had received earlier that day:
During my conversation with the President this morning he asked me to check with key leadership in Michigan's Legislature as to how supportive they could be in regards to pushing back on election irregularities and potential fraud. He wanted me to gauge their willingness to talk with him about efforts to bring about transparency and integrity in Michigan's election and report back to him.[61]
Representative Walberg added that he had already acted on this request: "I've had conversations with [Michigan] Speaker Lee Chatfield, Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey, and Senate President Pro Tempore Aric Nesbitt. They all assured me they would look forward to speaking with the President to report on their continuing efforts" related to overseeing the election "and receiving any suggestions from President Trump."[62] The President would soon host Chatfield, Shirkey, Nesbitt, and four other Michigan State lawmakers at the White House.[63]
In Arizona, on November 13, 2020, the day after officials finished counting ballots cast in Maricopa County, Chairwoman Kelli Ward, of the Arizona Republican Party, texted Mark Meadows that she had "[j]ust talked to POTUS" and that "[h]e may call the Chairman of the Maricopa Board of Supervisors," Clint Hickman.[64] Ward also left a message for Hickman that said, "I just talked to President Trump, and he would like me to talk to you and also see if he needs to give you a call to discuss what's happening on the ground in Maricopa. Give me a call back when you can."[65] According to Hickman, Ward was unusually active after the election, even for a party chair, and was the first person to pressure him. One of her first messages to Hickman before trying to connect him with President Trump was: "We need you to stop the counting."[66]
In Georgia, the President initially took a more public approach. After the Associated Press called the race there on November 12th, President Trump tweeted harsh criticisms of Governor Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.[67] Often these tweets called for them to take specific actions that would have shifted the election results in his favor, such as
