SC’s Clyburn wants criminal investigation into Trump, Georgia election officials call
South Carolina’s U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, the third most powerful Democrat in the House, called for criminal investigations into President Donald Trump’s call with Georgia’s secretary of state, after the president pressured him to “find” votes in his favor.
Clyburn said on CNN Tuesday that it would be a “waste of our time” in the U.S. House to pursue impeachment hearings because of the call, a recording of which was first released Sunday by the Washington Post.
“I suspect if all that I heard on this tape is to be investigated, there could very well be criminal charges brought by state and local governments,” said House Majority Whip Clyburn. “And I would hope that that would be pursued. That is something that can be pursued even after Jan. 20,” the date of President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration.
During an hour-long call Saturday, Trump urged Georgia’s Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find” enough votes to deliver him a win, repeating unproven voter fraud claims that have been rejected by courts. On the call, Trump claimed falsely that ballots in his favor may have been shredded in Fulton County, the home of Atlanta, a city that delivered a massive number of votes to Biden. Trump also falsely repeated that he won Georgia.
Biden clinched the state in November by 11,779 votes, a stunning upset to many who suspected the red state would go Trump.
Raffensperger rejected Trump’s calls to change vote counts.
Even if Georgia were to flip back to Trump, he still would not have enough electoral votes to clinch the presidency.
Trump has consistently alleged that massive widespread voter fraud changed the results of the election, especially in states that swung in Biden’s favor.
While the theories have been echoed by establishment Republicans across the country, no evidence has surfaced to support allegations of widespread voter fraud.
This story was originally published January 5, 2021 at 2:54 PM with the headline "SC’s Clyburn wants criminal investigation into Trump, Georgia election officials call."
