Former Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ) said on Sunday that it's up to prosecutors to decide if former President Donald Trump's alleged November 2020 call to former Gov. Doug Ducey (R-AZ) to persuade him not to certify the results of the election was criminal.
Three people familiar with the call told the Washington Post under the condition of anonymity that Trump called Ducey in the middle of the signing ceremony certifying the results of the election on Nov. 30. Although Ducey did not answer the call, the caller was identifiable by the "Hail to the Chief" ringtone. Ducey later confirmed he spoke to Trump after the ceremony.
VULNERABLE HOUSE REPUBLICANS URGE COLLEAGUES TO ACT FAST ON AVOIDING GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN
“We’ll let the prosecutors decide whether it’s criminal or not,” Christie said Sunday on CNN’s State of the Union. “But is it acceptable? It’s absolutely unacceptable, to be pressuring a governor or any elected official as it was with the secretary of state in Georgia, to try to find votes to be able to win a state that you didn’t win or to try to somehow come up with some kind of ridiculous theory to overturn the results in Arizona."
Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed special counsel Jack Smith last November to lead the Justice Department's investigations into Trump's role in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and his handling of classified documents. The war crimes prosecutor took over the investigations after Trump declared his 2024 presidential bid, leaving Garland in need of an apolitical investigator.
Smith indicted Trump in the classified documents matter last month, saying at the time that the charges were related to "felony violations of our national security laws as well as participating in a conspiracy to obstruct justice.” His office has not yet said whether they plan to charge the former president regarding his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss, and it is not clear if they are looking into the reported phone calls to the Arizona governor.
A Republican donor, again speaking under anonymity, told the newspaper that Ducey felt he was under "pressure" from the former president to overturn the election results, which Trump lost by more than 10,000 votes. Ducey told reporters on Dec. 2 of that year that he had spoken with both Trump and then Vice President Mike Pence, but declined to disclose the nature of the calls, which those close to the matter confirm were not recorded.
After certifying his state's election results, Ducey tweeted a nine-post thread on Nov. 30 defending the integrity of Arizona election law and stressing disenfranchisement did not occur.
"In Arizona, we have some of the strongest election laws in the country, laws that prioritize accountability and clearly lay out procedures for conducting, canvassing, and even contesting the results of an election," Ducey said.
"I've also said all along, I'm going to follow the law," he continued.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Christie argued on Sunday that Trump lost the 2020 election in Arizona and other key states because he “had not done the job the American people elected him to do.”
Gabrielle M. Etzel contributed to this report.