The FBI and the Georgia Bureau of Investigations are
investigating threats lodged against the state’s top election
officials according to a report, after leaders became targets of
ridicule over the handling of the general election.
President Donald Trump continues to allege that widespread
voting fraud and irregularities occurred in Georgia, even placing
blame on fellow Republicans despite a recount confirming tallies
that indicated Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden won the
state.
What are the details?
Georgia Deputy Secretary of State Jordan Fuchs told
Forbes on Sunday that federal and state law enforcement
agencies were investigating threats against Raffensperger and his
team, but she did not provide further details. The GBI issued a
statement
confirming it was looking into alleged threats against the state’s
election officials.
Last week, Raffensperger told
The Washington Post that he and his wife, Tricia, had received
death threats while he was overseeing a second recount of the
state’s votes from the Nov. 3 election. The secretary of state said
that one text message he received read, “You better not botch this
recount. Your life depends on it.”
Over the weekend, Georgia’s voting system manager, Republican
Gabriel Sterling, also said that he had been threatened and
harassed.
“So this is fun,” he tweeted, sarcastically. “multiple attempted
hacks of my emails, police protection around my home, the threats.
But all is well…following the the law, following the
process…doing our jobs.”
So this is fun…multiple attempted hacks of my emails, police
protection around my home, the threats. But all is w…
https://t.co/jMSNQDL0Kj— Gabriel Sterling (@Gabriel Sterling)1606011811.0
The
New York Post reported that “despite calling himself a ‘proud’
supporter of President Trump, Raffensperger has also found himself
repeatedly
under attack over the handling of the state’s election process
after declaring Joe Biden the victor after a hand recount.”
President Trump has led the charge on blaming Raffensperger for
his performance on the election oversight, and Republican Georgia
Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue — both up for re-election
in runoffs races slated for January — have called for the GOP
secretary of state to resign.
Days ago, the president also attacked Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp,
another Republican and Trump supporter, claiming he and
Raffensperger “refuse to let us look at signatures which would
expose hundreds of thousands of illegal ballots.”
…Why won’t they do it, and why are they so fast to certify
a meaningless tally?— Donald J. Trump (@Donald J. Trump)1605901114.0
Raffensperger pushes back
But Raffensperger refuted the president’s claims, writing in a
Washington Post op-ed that “in Georgia, signatures for absentee
ballot voters are verified twice to ensure that each voter gets one
vote — and only one vote.”
He added:
The truth is that the people of Georgia — and across
the country — should not have any remaining doubts about who was
elected governor two years ago or who won the presidential election
earlier this month. The presidential outcome was remarkably close,
but the new paper-ballot system, the strong election security and
integrity mechanisms in place, and the audit and hand recount
should combine to put to rest any doubts about the final
outcome.
Anything else?
Georgia’s vote tallies will be counted a third time, with a
second recount set to begin Tuesday morning at the request of the
Trump campaign, the
Associated Press reported.
The outlet noted that according to Sterling, “counties are to
give public notice of when during that period they will be counting
so monitors from political parties and any interested members of
the public can be there to observe.”
The election results,
certified last week by Raffensperger, showed Biden winning by
12,670 votes out of about 5 million cast.
