Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Wisconsin official says Trump phoned him last week to pressure him to change election results

‘I explained that it's not allowed under the Constitution, he has a different opinion’

Andrew Feinberg
Washington, DC
Wednesday 20 July 2022 10:52 EDT
Comments
Wisconsin lawmaker says Trump still pressuring him to overturn 2020 election

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos on Tuesday said former president Donald Trump is still pressuring him to purportedly rescind the Badger State’s 2020 electoral votes, even though there is no legal way to do so and no ground to even consider such an action.

Mr Trump has seized on a recent Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling which outlaws ballot drop boxes in future elections, claiming that the court’s ruling that the Wisconsin Election Commission exceeded its authority by authorising drop box use as a pandemic mitigation measure means President Joe Biden’s win in state is invalid.

In a statement, Mr Trump asked: “So what’s Speaker Robin Vos doing on the Great Wisconsin Supreme Court Ruling declaring hundreds of thousands of Drop Box votes to be illegal?”

In reality, the court ruling did not invalidate a single vote cast by drop box. And neither Mr Vos nor the Wisconsin legislature have the authority to retroactively invalidate votes or rescind electoral votes.

But that has not stopped Mr Trump from arguing to the contrary.

In an interview with Milwaukee ABC affiliate WISN, Mr Vos said he recieved a phone call last week in which the former president again demanded that somehow find a way to reverse his 2020 loss.

“It’s very consistent — he makes his case ... he would like us to do something different in Wisconsin, I explained that it's not allowed under the Constitution,” said Mr Vos, who added that the former president “has a different opinion”.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in