President Donald Trump is facing claims that he broke electoral law following the leak of a telephone call in which he pressured election officials to “find” enough votes for him to contest the U.S. election, which he lost to Joe Biden in November 2020.
On the tape, which was published by a number of U.S. newspapers, Trump warns Georgia”s Secretary of State, Brad Raffensperger, that he could be criminally liable if he didn’t back claims that thousands of ballots had been destroyed.
Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois said Trump’s conduct “`merits nothing less than a criminal investigation”.“
At a rally in Georgia ahead of a senatorial run-off election on Tuesday, U.S. Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris said Trump’s actions were “an abuse of power”.
Meanwhile, Raffensperger revealed that the conversation had been recorded and that either his office or the White House was responsible for leaking it.
Euronews journalist Ray Suarez said the tape “had sent shock waves through both parties” and that he could face charges that carry a maximum five-year prison term.