Trump presses top Georgian official to overturn Biden's victory

A recording obtained by The Washington Post revealed this Sunday that the outgoing US president, Donald Trump, put pressure on Georgia's top electoral authority to manipulate the results of the November elections, a new scandal that some are already comparing to the Watergate case. 

This revelation comes at a time when at least 12 senators and 100 Republican legislators are planning to oppose the ratification of the victory of President-elect Joe Biden during the congressional session of January 6 scheduled for this purpose. 

The Washington Post's revelation, dubbed "#Georgiagate" in reference to the Watergate case, has caused a political earthquake in Washington, but most members of the Republican Party are silent. 

In the recording published by the capital's newspaper, Trump is heard asking Georgia's Secretary of State, Brad Raffensperger, the state's top electoral authority, to "seek out" the votes necessary to overturn Biden's victory. 

First Trump flattered Raffensperger, also from the Republican Party, then begged him to act and, when he refused, threatened to bring criminal charges against him, while warning him that he was taking a "great risk" by not accepting his requests.

"The people of Georgia are angry, the people of the country are angry (...) And there’s nothing wrong with saying, you know, um, that you’ve recalculated," Trump is heard saying in one of The Washington Post's recordings. To this, Raffensperger responded: "Well, Mr. President, the challenge that you have is the data you have is wrong".

In the conversation, which lasted over an hour, the governor directly asked him to manipulate the count by saying: "So look. All I want to do is this. I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have because we won the state".

Trump used that figure of 11,780 ballots because Biden beat him by 11,779 votes in Georgia, which contributes 16 votes to the Electoral College, the body responsible for electing the president of the United States. 

In December, after counting the votes twice, Georgia's authorities certified the victory of Biden, who was the first Democrat to win in that state since Bill Clinton (1993-2001) in 1992. 

The exchange is a reflection of the hostility that Trump has used to pressure officials from key states where Biden won to change the election result, something they have refused to do in an attempt to defend the democracy of the world's leading power. 

Without evidence, the ruler claims that there was election fraud and has filed dozens of lawsuits, including with the Supreme Court, but has not been successful.

The ruler's last hope is the joint session of Congress on January 6 to count Biden's electoral votes and confirm his election as the new president, the last step in the process of certifying the election result and which will clear the way for his inauguration on January 20. 

Support for the president grew this weekend, with 12 senators and more than 100 legislators opposing Biden's ratification. 

This strategy is doomed to failure and will not prevent Congress from confirming Biden's victory, but it will ensure a vote on the triumph of the president-elect and a long debate, which could last until the early hours of January 7. 

Among the senators who have promoted this initiative is Ted Cruz from Texas, who sounds like a possible candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024 and wishes to win the favour of the base loyal to Trump. 

Outgoing Vice President Mike Pence, who will preside over the ceremony to certify Biden's victory, has welcomed the strategy of some members of the Republican bench and said he "shares" their concern about "election fraud," Chief of Staff Marc Short said in a statement. 

The Republican leader in the House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy, gave the green light to the initiative on Sunday, while the Republican leader in the Senate, Mitch McConnell, remained silent over the weekend, although he had previously taken a stand against it. 

The initiative also did not please Senator Mitt Romney, former Republican presidential candidate in 2012, and former party heavyweights such as former House Speaker Paul Ryan.

Now the question hanging over Washington is whether Trump's scandalous call is a turning point and will serve to turn the Republican Party's back on him, something that seems unlikely as the ruler has a loyal base of acolytes. 

Nonetheless, Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger urged his fellow party members to reconsider their position on Sunday on Twitter. "This is absolutely appalling. “To every member of Congress considering objecting to the election results, you cannot- in light of this- do so with a clean conscience," said Kinzinger on Twitter, a traditional conservative who has been willing to criticise the president on occasion. 

For his part, Democratic Senator Dick Durbin said this Sunday that Trump should face a criminal investigation, while Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a progressive symbol in Congress, said the president's statements are enough to open another political trial.