When it was clear that Raffensperger and his advisors would not agree to the President's request, the President ramped up the pressure by accusing them of committing crimes: "the ballots are corrupt. And you are going to find that they are—which is totally illegal—it is more illegal for you than it is for them because, you know, what they did and you're not reporting it. That's a criminal, that's a criminal offense. And you can't let that happen. That's a big risk to you and to Ryan, your lawyer . . . I'm notifying you that you're letting it happen."[251]
The President would stop at nothing to win Georgia. Separate from asking Raffensperger to alter, without justification, the election results in Georgia, he also attacked election workers. In that call, President Trump mentioned Ruby Freeman's name 18 times, referred to her daughter Shaye Moss several of those times, and accused them of crimes.[252] Raffensperger and his aides rebutted President Trump's false claims of fraud on the call and explained why they were wrong, but they did not deliver the one thing President Trump wanted most: the 11,780 votes he asked for.[253]
The next day, President Trump tweeted about his phone call with Raffensperger, falsely claiming that "[Secretary Raffensperger] was unwilling, or unable, to answer questions such as the 'ballots under table' scam. . . . He has no clue!"[254] He added that Raffensperger, Governor Kemp, and Lt. Governor Duncan "are a disgrace" and "have done less than nothing" about rampant political corruption.[255]
Even though Raffensperger and his team repeatedly told the President why his specific allegations of election fraud in Georgia were wrong,[256] President Trump met the next day with the top leadership of the Justice Department in an effort to convince them to send a letter falsely claiming that the Department had "identified significant concerns" affecting the election results in Georgia and calling on Governor Kemp, Speaker Ralston, and Senate President Pro Tempore Miller to convene a special session.[257] It was only after a showdown in the Oval Office, described in Chapter 4 during which the White House Counsel and others threatened to resign that President Trump decided against replacing Department of Justice leadership and issuing that letter.
2.5 SOME OFFICIALS EAGERLY ASSISTED PRESIDENT TRUMP WITH HIS PLANS
While many State officials resisted President Trump's demands, some eagerly joined the President's efforts.
President Trump routinely coordinated with Pennsylvania State Senator Doug Mastriano, whose request led to the November 25, 2020, hotel "hearing" in Gettysburg, and who traveled to Washington to meet with the
