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Former President Donald Trump said on Monday that the Washington Post’s now-admitted erroneous quote from his December phone call with a Georgia election investigator was a “media parody.”
But Trump said in an emailed statement, “Thank you to the Washington post for the correction. “
The then president’s post-election call with the election investigator has been widely described as evidence that he pressured state officials to dishonestly subvert President Biden’s victory and the will of the voters. But the Washington Post’s correction – after the audio file was discovered in a state official’s electronic trash can – undermined the seemingly most damning quotes attributed to him.
“You will notice that establishment media mistakes, omissions, errors and outright lies are always one way – against me and against Republicans,” Trump said.
“Meanwhile, stories that hurt Democrats or undermine their narratives are buried, ignored or delayed until they can do the least harm – for example, after the election is over. Look no further than the negative vaccine coverage leading up to the election and the late vaccine celebration after the election is over. A strong democracy requires a fair and honest press. This latest media parody emphasizes that the old media should be seen as political entities and not as journalistic enterprises. “
The correction significantly altered the report on the phone call, which was politically explosive for appearing to show Trump was plotting to overturn an election.
“Correction: Two months after the publication of this article, the Georgian Secretary of State released an audio recording of President Donald Trump’s December phone call with the state’s senior election investigator. The recording revealed that The Post misquoted Trump’s comments on the call, based on information provided by a source, ”the correction released Thursday began.
“Trump did not tell the investigator to ‘find the fraud’ or say that she would be ‘a national hero’ if she did. Instead, Trump urged the investigator to examine the ballots in Fulton County, Georgia, saying she would find “ dishonesty ” in them. He also told her that she had ‘the most important job in the country at the moment’.
The earlier, more damning version of the call was used by Democrats in Trump’s second indictment for allegedly instigating the January 6 riot on Capitol Hill. House impeachment officials argued that when Trump failed to convince state officials to overturn the election, he called a mob to make sure Congress couldn’t not certify the election. Trump was acquitted, but seven Senate Republicans voted to convict him of “inciting insurgency.”
In a separate call with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, whose audio was acquired by The Washington Post and The New York Times, Trump said, “I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is a more than what we have. ” His defense attorneys argued that he was speaking in context of finding a legal path to electoral victory.
Trump said the Post’s correction more than justified it.
“The Washington post just posted a correction regarding the contents of the incorrectly reported phone call I received regarding voter fraud in the Great State of Georgia. Although I appreciate the Washington post correction, which immediately makes Georgia Witch Hunt a non-story, the original story was a hoax, from the start. I would further appreciate a full investigation of Fulton County, Georgia, and the Stacey Abrams political machine which I believe would totally change the course of the presidential election in Georgia, ”Trump said in the statement.
The former president took the opportunity to reiterate his frequent criticisms of Georgia’s electoral practices after the state narrowly broke for Biden.
“Fulton County was not properly audited for voting or signature verification. They only looked at areas of the state where there would likely be few problems, and even there they found a large number of errors. We seek to uncover and expose the large scale electoral fraud that took place in Georgia. Many locals agree, and their anger led them not to run and vote for two Republican senators in the January election, ”Trump said.
“The consent decree signed between Raffensperger and Stacey Abrams was not approved by the Georgia state legislature, and therefore should be considered invalid, and the election result has changed. Why have the governor and Raffensperger already approved this consent decree is one of the big questions? We look forward to a response. “
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