Former President Donald Trump has been under scrutiny once again as audio has surfaced of him pressuring election workers in Michigan not to sign papers certifying the election results. The Detroit News reported that Trump, along with Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel, were captured in a phone call with two Republican members of the Wayne County Board of Canvassers, Monica Palmer and William Hartmann.
During the call, which took place on November 17, 2020, Trump and McDaniel reportedly told the election workers that they would “look terrible” if they signed the papers to certify the election after having previously voted against certification. McDaniel also went as far as to say, “We will get you attorneys,” suggesting that they would help the workers get legal representation.
The call has drawn comparisons to a similar high-profile call that Trump had with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, in which he pressured Raffensperger to “find” additional votes to overturn the election results in Georgia.
A spokesperson for Trump defended the former president’s actions, stating that he was simply fulfilling his duty as president to “ensure election integrity.” However, the call has led to further legal scrutiny, with the Michigan Bureau of Elections determining that Palmer and Hartmann’s signatures were not actually needed to advance the election certification.
The revelation of the call has raised questions about the lengths to which Trump and his allies would go to overturn the election results and has added further fuel to ongoing criminal investigations into efforts to subvert the 2020 election.