Donald Trump called Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp this morning to urge him to persuade the state legislature to overturn President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in the state.
It is the latest brazen effort by Trump to interfere in the 2020 election.
The Washington Post: Hours before he was scheduled to hold a rally in Georgia on behalf of the state’s two GOP senators, Trump pressed Kemp to call a special session of the state legislature to get lawmakers to override the results and appoint electors that would back him, according to a person familiar with the conversation who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the private call.
He also asked the governor to demand an audit of signatures on mail ballots, something Kemp has previously noted he has no power to do.
Kemp declined the entreaty from Trump, according to the person.
The governor later referenced his conversation with Trump in a midday tweet, noting that he told the president that he’d already publicly advocated for a signature audit.
As I told the President this morning, I’ve publicly called for a signature audit three times (11/20, 11/24, 12/3) to restore confidence in our election process and to ensure that only legal votes are counted in Georgia. #gapol https://t.co/xdXrhf1vI2
— Brian Kemp (@BrianKempGA) December 5, 2020
Cody Hall, Kemp’s spokesman, confirmed the two men spoke.
The latest example of Trump’s extraordinary personal effort to overturn Biden’s win comes as his legal team has met with resounding failure in its attempts to use the courts to upend the election.
On Friday, Trump and his allies suffered legal defeats in six states.
Judges turn back claims by Trump and his allies in six states as the president’s legal effort founders
Trump’s attempts to pressure Kemp come amid high political stakes in Georgia, where both Republican Senate incumbents face runoff elections in January that could determine which party controls the upper chamber.
Trump headlined a campaign rally for Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler in the state tonight — his first major political event since before the Nov. 3 election.
Even as GOP leaders have sought Trump’s help with the races of Perdue and Loeffler, the president has remained fixated on his loss in the state, promoting baseless claims that Biden’s win was based on fraud.
Trump roils Georgia GOP as party waits to see if presidential visit helps — or hurts — in crucial Senate runoffs
Kemp, a onetime ally of Trump, has become a punching bag for the president who called him “hapless” for not doing more to help him wrest away Biden’s win.
“I will easily & quickly win Georgia if Governor @BrianKempGA or the Secretary of State permit a simple signature verification. Has not been done and will show large scale discrepancies. Why are these two “Republicans” saying no? If we win Georgia, everything else falls in place!” Trump tweeted Saturday.
In response, Kemp tweeted: “As I told the President this morning, I’ve publicly called for a signature audit three times (11/20, 11/24, 12/3) to restore confidence in our election process and to ensure that only legal votes are counted in Georgia.”
Trump and his allies have falsely claimed with no evidence that county election officials in Georgia accepted ballots where the envelope signatures did not match the ones on file.
Even if officials audited signatures on ballot envelopes, it would be impossible to match them with the ballots themselves, which are separated from envelopes during processing to protect voters’ privacy, as required in the Georgia Constitution.
Kemp has requested that Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger conduct an audit, but his office has also made clear that the governor has no power to order such a move.
“Georgia law prohibits the governor from interfering in elections. The Secretary of State, who is an elected constitutional officer, has oversight over elections that cannot be overrriden by executive order,” Kemp’s spokesman said several days ago in response to Trump’s public demands.
Kemp has also said that he will not call for a special session of the legislature.
Lawyers for Raffensperger have determined that current law gives Georgia legislators no role in seating electors.