Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who was asked by former President Donald Trump in January 2021 to “find”11,780 votes for him in the 2020 election, will be interviewed by investigators working for special counsel Jack Smith on Wednesday, Raffensperger’s office confirmed.
President Biden won Georgia by 11,779 votes in the 2020 election, flipping the state blue for the first time since 1992. On Jan. 2, 2021, Trump called Raffensperger, a Republican, and asked him to “find” 11,780 votes for him, which would have given Trump a one-vote margin over Mr. Biden.
“The people of Georgia are angry, the people in the country are angry,” Trump can be heard saying on the audio recording of the call. “And there’s nothing wrong with saying that, you know, um, that you’ve recalculated.”
As Raffensperger pushed back, telling him “the data you have is wrong,” Trump repeated the false claim that he really won the state more than 30 times.
“So, what are we going to do here, folks?” Trump said, according to audio of the call. “I only need 11,000 votes. Fellas, I need 11,000 votes. Give me a break.”
Jacquelyn Martin / AP
Smith is investigating whether there was any illegal interference in the transfer of power after the 2020 election or certification of the Electoral College vote on Jan. 6, 2021.
At the same time, Smith is also leading the investigation into Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified documents after he left office. The Justice Department charged Trump earlier this month with 37 felony counts. Trump pleaded not guilty in federal court in Miami on June 13.
Raffensperger confirmed in Dec. 2022 that he had been subpoenaed by Smith. Smith also subpoenaed local election officials in Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin for communications with Trump, his campaign and several lawyers and allies associated with his 2020 presidential campaign.
Raffensperger testified in June 2022 before the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Raffensperger said “at the end of the day, Trump came up short” in Georgia.
“I think sometimes moments require you to stand up and just take the shots — you’re doing your job,” Raffensperger said. “And that’s all we did. We just followed the law and followed the Constitution.”
Raffensperger has also been subpoenaed to appear before a Fulton County, Georgia, grand jury that is investigating Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
Trump has denied any wrongdoing in these cases. At the Georgia GOP convention earlier this month, Trump called Smith “deranged” and a “Trump hater.”
Raffensperger fended off a challenge in 2022 from a Republican primary candidate backed by Trump, and he won reelection in the general election.
Nikole Killion contributed to this report.
