Trump calls Raffensperger: 'just find 11,780 votes'

On January 2, 2021, President Trump called Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and spent more than an hour demanding he "find 11,780 votes" — exactly one more than Biden's certified margin — and declare Trump the winner. Trump also suggested Raffensperger and his general counsel Ryan Germany could face criminal liability if they refused. Raffensperger declined; the call recording was published the next day. Special Counsel Jack Smith cited the call as central evidence in the federal election-interference case, and Georgia prosecutors included it as a key count in their 2023 RICO indictment.