Raffensperger of Georgia says he ‘never thought’ it appropriate to speak with Trump about elections

WASHINGTON – Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said on Monday that he never thought it appropriate to speak to President Donald Trump about the 2020 election results and that the conversations Trump has had with he and other election officials could create a conflict of interest that justifies it. investigate.

When asked on ABC’s ‘Good Morning America’ if he had spoken to Trump before a phone call he and the President had on Saturday, Raffensperger said, “I never thought it was appropriate to speak to the president. ”

Ultimately, the call came after White House staff lobbied for it, Raffensperger said, adding that he “would rather not talk to someone when we are in a dispute,” an reference to Trump’s lawsuit against Georgia over election results.

“We took the call and had a conversation. He did most of the conversation, we did most of the listening, “Raffensperger said.” But I wanted to make the point that the data he has is just plain wrong.

“For the past two months we’ve been fighting the ‘whack-a-mole’ rumor, Raffensperger added.“ And it was pretty obvious early on that we debunked every one of these theories that existed, but President Trump continues to believe them.

Raffensperger received the call on Saturday afternoon after the White House switchboard attempted to get him to speak to Trump in the two months since the general election, according to a Georgian Republican familiar with the call.

Officials in Raffensperger’s office recorded the call and he made it clear to his advisers that he did not want a transcript or audio recording released unless Trump attacked Georgian officials or misrepresented the conversation, according to the report. source. Prior to the audio leak, Trump attacked Raffensperger on Twitter saying they had a call and he had not got his questions answered.

When asked if he felt any pressure when Trump told him to find the votes to overturn Biden’s victory in Georgia, Raffensperger told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, “No I, we have to go through the process. , respect the law. Everything we have done in the past 12 months follows the constitution of the state of Georgia, follows the constitution of the United States, follows the law of the state.

In response to the phone call, the audio of which surfaced on Sunday, David Worley, a Democratic member of the Georgia State Election Council, chaired by Raffensperger, asked him to open an investigation.

When asked if he would, Raffenperger said: “I believe because I had a conversation with the President, he also had a conversation with our chief investigator after we did the Cobb County signature match audit last week, there may be a conflict. of interest, I understand, that the Fulton County District Attorney wants to consider. Maybe this is the right place for it, ”Raffensperger said.

Two House Democrats sent a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray requesting an investigation into the appeal.

As to whether he would vote for Trump again, Raffensperger said he has always supported Republicans and “probably always,” but that Trump is not on the 2024 ballot, “so we’ll just have to wait. to see what would happen. “

Julia jester contributed.