Trump caught on tape giving step-by-step instructions on how to steal Georgia in 2020
New audio recordings obtained by the New York Times confirm what Trump has insisted for years did not happen: he directly pressured top Republican officials in Georgia to toss out the 2020 election results and hand him the win. In the tapes, Trump repeatedly tells the late Speaker David Ralston how to illegally overturn Joe Biden’s victory, floating conspiracy theories and casually bulldozing democratic norms like he’s ordering lunch.
On Wednesday, the Times reported it had obtained the clips as part of a collection of documents pertaining to the recently dismissed Fulton County, Georgia criminal case against Trump and more than a dozen of his advisors and associates. In one 12- minute phone call, Trump is heard talking to the late former Georgia House Speaker David Ralston (R) — who died in 2023 — about calling a special legislative session to address supposed “fraud” in the 2020 election.
“Who’s gonna stop you for that?” Trump is heard saying.
“A federal judge, possibly,” Ralston replied with a laugh.
Trump’s whole defense in the Georgia case was that he was merely asking some questions, exploring options, or expressing concern. But here he is on a 12-minute call in December 2020, laying out a comprehensive plan for how Ralston could manufacture a basis for overturning Georgia’s results. All the evidence is here: the lies about ballot boxes, the fantasy that he won by “hundreds of thousands” of votes, and the Trumpian logic of if you don’t like the law, the law doesn’t apply.
Ralston, who passed away in 2023, never called the session. Perhaps out of integrity, maybe out of a healthy respect for federal judges, but the audio is damning. While the racketeering charges tied to this call were thrown out on a technicality, the tape speaks volumes: Trump tried to manufacture election fraud. He cares nothing for the will of the people.
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