Trump pressured Georgia election investigator to 'find voter fraud' in ANOTHER call and White House forced US attorney to resign because he wasn't 'doing enough to overturn Biden's win'
While election officials in Georgia were verifying signatures on absentee ballot envelopes in one metro-Atlanta county, President Donald Trump pressured the lead investigator to 'find the fraud' and said it would make the investigator a national hero
While election officials in Georgia were verifying signatures on absentee ballot envelopes in Cobb County in December, President Donald Trump pressured the lead investigator to 'find the fraud' and said it would make the investigator a national hero, a source says.
And in a separate call, the White House pushed Atlanta's top federal prosecutor to resign before Georgia's U.S. Senate runoffs because Trump was furious he wasn't doing enough to investigate the president's allegations of election fraud, the Wall Street Journal reported.
U.S. Attorney Byung J. Pak resigned abruptly on Monday after a senior Justice Department official called him at the behest of the White House and pressured him to step down, people familiar with the matter said.
Both calls were separate from Trump's now-infamous January 2 call to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger where he asked election officials to 'find' enough votes to overturn Joe Biden´s win in the state's presidential election.
U.S. Attorney Byung J. Pak resigned abruptly on Monday after a senior DOJ official called him at the behest of the White House and pressured him to step down, sources say
The earlier call to the investigator occurred as election officials were conducting an audit of signatures on absentee ballot envelopes in Cobb County.
The audit, which reviewed more than 15,000 signatures, found no cases of fraud. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation helped conduct the signature audit.
Trump told the unidentified investigator that he would be a 'national hero' if they found fraud, but they couldn't, according to a person familiar with the call who spoke on the condition of anonymity in order to describe the sensitive nature of the discussion.
Trump and his allies have for months made false claims about Georgia's signature verification process for absentee ballots and about the results of the November election, which Trump lost to Biden in Georgia by about 12,000 votes. Among other things, they demanded an audit of the signature matches.
The White House had no immediate comment.
The call was first reported Saturday by The Washington Post, which said it was withholding the name of the investigator, who did not respond to requests for comment, because of the risk of threats and harassment directed at election officials.
GBI agents audit absentee ballot signatures at the Cobb County Civic Center. Trump reportedly called an investigator in Cobb County and urged him to 'find the fraud'
Various election officials across the country and Trump's former attorney general, William Barr, have said there was no widespread fraud in the election.
Raffensperger, an elected Republican, and other election officials in Georgia have repeatedly disputed Trump's false claims about the election and said it was conducted freely and fairly.
Trump held at least three phone calls with Georgia officials seeking to overturn the election results before Congress certified Biden´s Electoral College win early Thursday -- hours after a violent throng of pro-Trump rioters stormed the Capitol.
During a call in early December, Trump pressed Georgia Governor Brian Kemp to order a special session of the state legislature to subvert Biden´s victory. Kemp, also a Republican, refused.
Trump repeatedly lashed out at Raffensperger and Kemp and others he saw as standing in his way of overturning his election loss.
Audio of Trump's phone call to Raffensperger was leaked on January 3, just one day after the call took place.
Trump´s Jan. 2 call to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger where he asked election officials to 'find' enough votes to overturn Joe Biden´s win was cited in a draft version of new articles of impeachment against Trump on Friday
During the call, Trump called Atlanta U.S. Attorney Byung J. 'BJay' Pak a 'never Trumper.'
Pak, who was appointed by Trump, announced his resignation as U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Georgia in a news release the day after the call was leaked.
The statement did not say why Pak was leaving or what he planned to do next.
'It has been the greatest honor of my professional career to have been able to serve my fellow citizens as the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia,' Pak said in the release.
'I have done my best to be thoughtful and consistent, and to provide justice for my fellow citizens in a fair, effective and efficient manner. I am grateful to President Trump and the United States Senate for the opportunity to serve, and to former Attorneys General Sessions and Barr for their leadership of the Department.'
U.S. Attorney Byung J. 'BJay' Pak announces that Georgia Insurance Commissioner Jim C. Beck has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of wire fraud, mail fraud and money laundering, Tuesday, May 14, 2019 in Atlanta
Pak was sworn in as U.S. attorney in the Atlanta-based Northern District of Georgia in October 2017 after having been appointed by Trump.
He was a Republican state lawmaker from 2011 to 2017, had previously served as an assistant U.S. attorney from 2002 to 2008 and was working in private practice at the time of his appointment.
The shocking recording of the January 2 call was referenced in a draft version of Speaker Nancy Pelosi's articles of impeachment against Trump.
House Democrats plan to introduce the articles on Monday, charging a single count of incitement of insurrection.