Donald Trump Michigan Tape Is 'Perfect Evidence'—Attorney

The emergence of a recording in which Donald Trump appears to urge two canvassers in Wayne County, Michigan, to not certify the 2020 presidential election result is "perfect evidence" against the former president—according to one attorney.

The claim was made by Joe Gallina, an affiliate of pro-Democratic campaign group 'Call to Activism,' who said the recordings showed "the great lengths Donald Trump went to try to overturn the election."

On Thursday The Detroit News published extracts from a November 17, 2020, call involving Trump, Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniels, and GOP Wayne County canvassers Monica Palmer and William Hartmann. During the conversation Trump told Palmer and Hartmann not to certify Michigan's 2020 election result, which Biden won by around 150,000 votes, warning they would look "terrible" if they did so.

The then-president added: "We've got to fight for our country. We can't let these people take our country away from us."

McDaniels urged Palmer and Hartmann not to sign Wayne County's official statement of votes that day, commenting: "If you can go home tonight, do not sign it...We will get you attorneys."

The two canvassers followed this advice, declining to sign off the result that night, and later tried unsuccessfully to revoke their earlier votes for certification.

Gallina discussed the revelation in a video posted by Call to Activism to its official account on X, formerly Twitter. He described the recordings as "another smoking gun" in Trump's criminal election interference case, in which the former president is facing four charges related to claims he broke the law attempting to overturn the 2020 election outcome. Trump has pled not guilty to all charges, and is continuing to claim the 2020 election was rigged against him despite this allegation being repeatedly rejected in court and by independent legal experts.

The attorney continued: "Now here's why this is so significant because there is nothing, and as an attorney I'm telling you, there is nothing more persuasive than a defendant himself being recorded committing a crime. There is nothing more persuasive in the eyes of the law.

"And here we have a defendant, a criminal defendant, Donald Trump in his Washington [election interference] case and another example of him breaking the law on the telephone call in Michigan with these canvassers. This is going to provide a new layer for the jury, it's going to provide another opportunity for the state to show the lengths Donald Trump went to overturn the election."

Gallina went on to compare the call with one made by Trump to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who he urged to "find 11,780 votes" to hand him victory in the state, but noted this one shows the then president operating much lower down the pecking order. He said: "This is a horse of a different color, Donald Trump is on the phone talking to a canvasser, someone on the low end of the totem pole, shows the great lengths Donald Trump went to try to overturn the election."

On X, Call to Action described the recordings as "perfect evidence" and speculated it could also result in McDaniel facing federal conspiracy charges.

In a statement sent to Newsweek, a Trump campaign spokesperson commented: "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."

Trump is facing three separate criminal cases over claims he orchestrated the payment of hush money to an adult actor, mishandled classified documents and acted illegally whilst attempting to reverse the 2020 election outcome in the state of Georgia specifically. He has pled not guilty to all charges and insists the cases against him are politically motivated.

Update 12/22/23, 9:20 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with comment from Trump's campaign.