William Brangham:
Here's what we know.
Joe Biden won Michigan by about 154,000 votes. But at the time of this call, Michigan had not certified those votes. And so imagine you're these two local elections officials, and the phone rings, and it's the president of the United States and the chairman of the Republican National Committee.
And they're saying, don't certify those results. It's crooked. We will send lawyers. There's been rigging going on here. Just imagine the power dynamic difference there, where the president is calling asking you to do this.
I mean, as we know, Donald Trump in the past had made many unfounded allegations about voting in Detroit, which is where Wayne County is, saying that dead voters had been voting. None of that was true. Michigan was about to announce its results. And these two canvassers did try to rescind their certification, but it was too late. Michigan was declared for Joe Biden. Michigan was critical for Joe Biden's election win.
And this effort, this phone call, seems to be another effort by the former president to stop that fact from becoming reality.
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