A new bombshell report by the Detroit News says that a recording emerged featuring former President Donald Trump advising two Republican members of the Wayne County Board of Canvassers not to certify Joe Biden as the winner of Michigan State as an underhanded strategy to flip the state in his favor during the 2020 U.S. Presidential election.
In the call, Trump allegedly told Monica Palmer and William Hartmann that they would risk outrage from the American people if they voted in favor of certifying President Joe Biden’s victory.
The conversation, which was made public for the first time on Thursday, took place on November 17, 2020, and included the involvement of Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel.
If these allegations are true, U.S. Federal Special Counsel Jack Smith may proceed to add more criminal charges against Trump, who is already facing numerous charges related to the 2020 election including refusal to return alleged classified documents.
Suspicious Phone Call?
In the audio, made by a person present for the call, Trump can be heard saying: “We’ve got to fight for our country,” and: “We can’t let these people take our country away from us.”
McDaniel can also be heard saying: “If you can go home tonight, do not sign it,” referring to the certification. “We will get you attorneys,” McDaniel promised.
Trump then replied in the recorded call: “We’ll take care of that.”
Both Palmer and Hartmann left the meeting without signing official statements of votes for the county – and they unsuccessfully attempted to rescind their votes supporting the certification the following day.
Allegations that the 2020 election was “stolen” remain unproven. In Michigan, a Republican-controlled state Senate committee investigated the claims and found no evidence of widespread fraud.
Palmer conceded to The News that she and Hartmann received the phone call from Trump while inside a vehicle, creating a situation where other individuals were present and potentially able to overhear the conversation.
However, she emphasized her inability to ascertain the identities of those who entered the vehicle or the likelihood of them having heard the exchange. On numerous occasions during the interview with The News, Palmer expressed her inability to recall the precise content of the conversation between McDaniel, herself, and Trump.
Bombshell Report TV
(Watch TV Video: ‘Incredible damning evidence, if true’: New bombshell report on Trump’s efforts not to certify 2020 vote | Watch (msn.com)
Spotlight On Michigan
The highly-publicized Wayne County canvassers meeting garnered significant national attention, as proponents of President Trump publicly implored the board to refrain from certifying the election results. Their stance was based on unsubstantiated claims of widespread fraud, specifically focused on vote counting in Detroit, which is a solidly Democratic region within Wayne County.
Initially, Hartmann and Palmer voted against certifying the county’s election, effectively withholding the necessary votes for approval. However, their position shifted later in the meeting, and they ultimately supported the certification of the election. Their change in stance was contingent upon the requirement of conducting an audit of select precincts located within Wayne County.
Subsequently, Hartmann and Palmer declined to affix their signatures to the official certification paperwork. In addition, they openly acknowledged having received a phone call from President Trump and Republican National Committee Chairwoman, Ronna McDaniel.
A representative for the former president told The Messenger in a statement that “all of President Trump’s actions were taken in furtherance of his duty as President of the United States to faithfully take care of the laws and ensure election integrity, including investigating the rigged and stolen 2020 Presidential Election.”
“President Trump and the American people have the Constitutional right to free and fair elections. Crooked Joe Biden and the Democrats are spinning their wheels in the face of devastating polling numbers and desperately leaking misleading information to interfere in the election.”
Leaked Audio
The bombshell leaked audio comes as the former president is already facing four counts of criminal conspiracy to defraud the United States and its voters in the aftermath of the 2020 election.
Chris Thomas, a highly experienced lawyer whose dedication of three decades to serving as Michigan’s elections director, told Detroit News reporter Craig Mauger that the actions taken by the Republican canvassers in Wayne County to obstruct the certification of the election had no legal justification to do so.
Thomas expressed deep disappointment, highlighting that Republican leaders went as far as offering the Wayne County canvassers legal protection as an incentive to fulfill their duty and boldly flip the Michigan win to Trump when evidence proved he lost the state and Biden won.
“Offering something of value to a public official to not perform a required duty may raise legal issues for a person doing so,” Thomas said.
Since President Joe Biden’s Department of Justice is still breathing dragon fire on Trump’s neck to put him in prison what do the legal allegations in Michigan mean in terms of federal criminal charges? One damaging issue Trump and McDaniel could face is Michigan bribery law, which says:
Any person who shall corruptly give, offer or promise to any public officer, agent, servant or employee [employee] … any gift, gratuity, money, property or other valuable thing, the intent or purpose of which is to influence the act, vote, opinion, decision or judgment of such public officer, agent, servant or employee [employee], or his action on any matter, question, cause or proceeding, which may be pending or may by law be brought before him in his public capacity, or the purpose and intent of which is to influence any act or omission relating to any public duty of such officer, agent, servant or [employee], shall be guilty of a felony.
Yet will it happen in 2024?
Trump’s futile attempt to prevent the certification of Biden’s victory in the midwest state is a key element in Special Counsel Jack Smith’s indictment.
Meanwhile, there is no word from news media outlets on whether Special Counsel Jack Smith is planning to charge former Donald Trump over the new Michigan allegations nor has Trump’s actions been deemed criminal or civil action.
Contributing Legal Affairs Reporter Clarence Walker can be reached at HoustonNewsToday@yahoo.com
