New Audio Tape Shows Trump Pressured Georgia Investigators To Overturn 2020 Election

A new audio tape released on Wednesday shows that then-President Donald Trump pressured the lead investigator of Georgia’s mail-ballot audit to overturn the state’s 2020 election results. The call is between Trump and Chief Investigator Frances Watson, and in it Trump claims falsely that he won the state of Georgia and urges Watson to find the ‘right answer,’ implying the right answer is that Trump won the state.

The December call opens with Trump claiming “something bad happened,” in the Georgia election and that, “When the right answers come out, you’ll be praised,” hinting that if Watson invalidated Joe Biden‘s Georgia win, she would be rewarded by Trump.

“I can assure you that our team and the [Georgia Bureau of Investigation], that we are only interested in the truth and finding the information that is based on the facts,” Watson then said to Trump.

Georgia has already opened a criminal probe investigating Trump, citing his efforts to invalidate Biden’s win in the state. Trump’s call with Watson is expected to become evidence in the probe.

“I do know that you are a very busy, very important man, and I am very honored that you called,” Watson said to Trump later in the six-minute call. “And quite frankly I’m shocked that you would take time to do that, but I am very appreciative.”

Trump then, before ending the call, urged Watson to scrutinize Fulton Country, one of Georgia’s most densely populated counties that Biden won handily. “If you can get to Fulton, you are going to find things that are going to be unbelievable,” the then-president said, hinting that the district suffered from voter fraud.

Trump now has a pattern of making incriminating calls to Georgia officials, as Trump’s January call to Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger is the action that sparked the criminal probe opened against Trump. Raffensperger’s office responded to the news of Trump’s call with Watson saying, “This phone call is just one more example of how Secretary Raffensperger’s office’s public comments also reflect what was said in one-on-one conversations: We would follow the law, count every legal vote and investigate any allegations of fraud. That’s exactly what we did, and how we arrived at the accurate final vote tally,” Raffensperger spokesperson Ari Schaffer told the Wall Street Journal.