Former President Donald Trump in a 2020 phone call attempted to pressure Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey to overturn his state’s election results, according to a new report.
Three people familiar with the call, who asked not to be identified, told The Washington Post that Trump phoned Ducey and asked him to investigate allegations of voter fraud, which Trump believed would justify overturning the election.
Trump also asked then-Vice President Mike Pence call the Arizona governor to push him into supporting his fraud claims, according to the Post. While they did discuss the election on several occasions, Pence did not pressure Ducey as his boss requested, two people familiar with the conversations said.
Trump lost to Joe Biden in Arizona by more than 10,000 votes and no evidence has been uncovered to support his claims of voter fraud.
While Ducey told reporters in December 2020 that he and Trump had spoken, he declined to provide details about the call. Almost three years later, Ducey still has not publicly discussed his conversations with the former president. He did confide in a major Republican donor earlier this year, saying he felt “pressure” to follow through on Trump’s request, according to the Post.
In the same conversation with the donor, Ducey said he was surprised he wasn’t contacted by special counsel Jack Smith, who has been tasked with investigating Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election, according to the donor, who spoke to the paper on the condition of anonymity.
Ducey, who left office earlier this year because of term limits, did not record the call with Trump, people familiar with the matter said. He also declined to comment when reached by The Washington Post.
“This is neither new nor is it news to anyone following this issue the last two years,” a spokesman for Ducey said in a statement. “Governor Ducey defended the results of Arizona’s 2020 election, he certified the election, and he made it clear that the certification provided a trigger for credible complaints backed by evidence to be brought forward. None were ever brought forward.”
