think it's a shame that Republicans sort of are both in this, kind of, situation. And I think there may be a nice way to resolve this for everybody.[220]
In his message for Sellers, Giuliani said "I'd like to see if there is a way that we can resolve this so that it comes out well for everyone. We're all Republicans, I think we all have the same goal. Let's see if . . . we can get this done outside of the court."[221] Like Hickman, neither Gates nor Sellers returned Giuliani's calls.[222]
So President Trump made the call himself. On December 31st, Board Chair Clint Hickman received a voicemail from the White House switchboard, asking him to call back for President Trump. Hickman said that he did not return the call, in part because the county was still facing litigation over the election.[223] Another call from the White House came through on January 3rd with a request that Hickman call back for the President. But, by then, the President's call with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, described below, had leaked, and Hickman "didn't want to walk into that space."[224]
Georgia. On December 5th, President Trump traveled to Georgia to headline a rally and mobilize voters in advance of a January Senate runoff. But the President's day started with a morning call to Governor Brian Kemp during which they discussed reconvening the legislature in a special session.[225] After the call, Kemp took to Twitter. He acknowledged that he had spoken to the President and that he told the President that he supported the idea of, and had already called for, a signature audit in Georgia.[226] President Trump responded later that night by complaining that Georgia had not yet done a signature-verification audit and instead insisted that the Governor should "[a]t least immediately ask for a Special Session of the Legislature."[227] The following day, Governor Kemp and Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan issued a definitive statement rejecting President Trump and his allies' calls to overturn the results in Georgia:
While we understand four members of the Georgia Senate are requesting the convening of a special session of the General Assembly, doing this in order to select a separate slate of presidential electors is not an option that is allowed under state or federal law.
State law is clear: the legislature could only direct an alternative method for choosing presidential electors if the election was not able to be held on the date set by federal law. In the 1960s, the General Assembly decided that Georgia's presidential electors will be determined by the winner of the State's popular vote. Any attempt
