President Donald Trump was caught on tape issuing coercive threats to Georgia’s Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in a phone call on Saturday. Audio of the phone call was obtained by the New York Times and Washington Post and revealed the on-going and desperate months-long attempt by the President to engineer a reelection for himself. Trump brazenly asked Raffensperger to recalculate the vote tally. He also asked about the voting machines by a company called Dominion. President Trump in a phone call with Georgia’s Secretary of State incorrectly referred to as ‘Brian’ instead of ‘Brad.’ Trump went on to accuse the Secretary of engaging in a criminal offense and eventually asked him to simply come up with the specific number of votes that would show him winning. The interaction was stunning even by Trump’s standards and drew comparisons with the political threats he had issued to Ukraine’s President Zelensky which led to his impeachment a year ago. 

Trump’s words warrant investigation and possible charges say several figures including Mr. Raffensperger himself, as well as the sole Democrat on Georgia’s State Board of Elections, David Worley. Some Democratic members of Congress have asked FBI Director Christopher Wray to open an investigation as well, saying that Trump “engaged in solicitation of, or conspiracy to commit, a number of election crimes.” The phone call came just days before the make-or-break Senate races in Georgia which could decide which party controls the U.S. Senate. GOP candidate David Perdue defended Trump’s phone call and said that he supports Trump’s effort to overturn the election. His colleague Kelly Loeffler who is the other GOP Senator battling for reelection says she is “seriously looking” into doing the same. Meanwhile President-elect Joe Biden headed to Georgia to show his support for the Democratic challengers Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff. 

Trump is not alone in seeking what can only be described as a “coup attempt.” He is supported by several Republican Senators including Ted Cruz who is leading a charge to not certify Biden’s win this week. Cruz’s move has buttressed a similar effort by 3 dozen GOP Representatives. Vice President Mike Pence has also indicated that he supports the effort. The New York Times explained that, “neither Mr. Pence nor any of the senators who said they would vote to invalidate the election has made a specific allegation of fraud, instead offering vague suggestions that some wrongdoing might have occurred and asserting that many of their supporters believe that it has.