THE TIGHTENING NOOSE (profanity alert):

One section of the book the district attorney's office may be paying close attention to recounts the January 2, 2021, phone call between the president, Raffensperger, Raffensperger's general counsel, Ryan Germany, and assorted other parties. According to a copy of Raffensperger's book obtained by the Hive, it goes like this:

President Trump: I think you're going to find that they are shredding ballots because they have to get rid of the ballots because the ballots are unsigned. The ballots are corrupt, and they're brand new, and they don't have seals, and there's a whole thing with the ballots. But the ballots are corrupt.

And you are going to find that they are--which is totally illegal--it is more illegal for you than it is for them, because, you know what they did and you're not reporting it. That's a criminal, that's a criminal offense. And you can't let that happen. That's a big risk to you and to Ryan, your lawyer. And that's a big risk.

Observation: Now President Trump is using what he believes is the power of his position to threaten Ryan and me with prosecution if we don't do what he tells us to do. It was nothing but an attempt at manipulation.

President Trump: But they are shredding ballots, in my opinion, based on what I've heard. And they are removing machinery, and they're moving it as fast as they can. Both of which are criminal fines. And you can't let it happen, and you are letting it happen. You know, I mean, I'm notifying you that you're letting it happen.... So look. All I want to do is this. I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have, because we won the state.

Observation: The president now is directly telling us what he wants--the exact number of votes he needs to win Georgia.

President Trump: And flipping the state is a great testament to our country because, you know, this is...it's a testament that they can admit to a mistake or whatever you want to call it. If it was a mistake, I don't know. A lot of people think it wasn't a mistake. It was much more criminal than that. But it's a big problem in Georgia, and it's not a problem that's going away. I mean, you know, it's not a problem that's going away.

And later:

President Trump: Well, you better check on the ballots because they are shredding ballots, Ryan. I'm just telling you, Ryan. They're shredding ballots. And you should look at that very carefully. Because that's so illegal. You know, you may not even believe it because it's so bad. But they're shredding ballots because they think we're going to eventually get there...Because we'll eventually get into Fulton. In my opinion, it's never too late.... So, that's the story. Look, we need only 11,000 votes. We have far more than that as it stands now. We'll have more and more. And...do you have provisional ballots at all, Brad? Provisional ballots?

Brad Raffensperger: Provisional ballots are allowed by state law.

President Trump: Sure, but I mean, are they counted, or did you just hold them back, because they, you know, in other words, how many provisional ballots do you have in the state?

Brad Raffensperger: We'll get you that number.

President Trump: Because most of them are made out to the name Trump. Because these are people that were scammed when they came in. And we have thousands of people that have testified or that want to testify. When they came in, they were proudly going to vote on November 3. And they were told, "I'm sorry, you've already been voted for, you've already voted." The women, men started screaming, "No. I proudly voted till November 3." They said, "I'm sorry, but you've already been voted for, and you have a ballot." And these people are beside themselves. So they went out, and they filled in a provisional ballot, putting the name Trump on it.... I don't know. Look, Brad. I got to get...I have to find 12,000 votes, and I have them times a lot. And therefore I won the state. That's before we go to the next step, which is in the process of right now. You know, and I watched you this morning, and you said, well, there was no criminality.

But I mean all of this stuff is very dangerous stuff. When you talk about no criminality, I think it's very dangerous for you to say that.

Observation: I felt then--and still believe today--that this was a threat. Others obviously thought so, too, because some of Trump's more radical followers have responded as if it was their duty to carry out this threat.

In September the Brookings Institution, a D.C. think tank, released a 109-page report that analyzed publicly available evidence concerning Trump's and his allies' efforts to pressure Georgia officials to "change the lawful outcome of the election." They concluded that the ex-president could be charged with multiple crimes, including "criminal solicitation to commit election fraud; intentional interference with performance of election duties; conspiracy to commit election fraud; criminal solicitation; and state RICO violations," in addition to violations of more than a dozen other Georgia state statutes. "We conclude that Trump's post-election conduct in Georgia leaves him at substantial risk of possible state charges predicated on multiple crimes," the report stated. Obviously, one of the least-helpful things Trump has going for him, from an evidence standpoint, is his phone call to Raffensperger.

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