Chris Christie criticizes Trump’s call to Doug Ducey after 2020 election as ‘unacceptable’.

Former Gov. Chris Christie: Prosecutors to Decide if Trump’s Alleged Call to Gov. Ducey was Criminal

Former Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ) stated on Sunday that the decision of whether former President Donald Trump’s alleged call to former Gov. Doug Ducey (R-AZ) in November 2020, urging him not to certify the election results, was criminal or not, lies in the hands of prosecutors.

“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.”

According to three anonymous sources who spoke to the Washington Post, Trump made the call to Ducey during the signing ceremony for the election results on November 30. Although Ducey did not answer the call, the caller’s identity was revealed by the “Hail to the Chief” ringtone. Ducey later confirmed that he spoke to Trump after the ceremony.

Investigations into Trump’s Actions

Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed special counsel Jack Smith in November to lead the Justice Department’s investigations into Trump’s involvement in the Capitol riot on January 6 and his handling of classified documents. Smith, a war crimes prosecutor, took over the investigations after Trump announced his 2024 presidential bid, requiring an impartial investigator.

Last month, Smith indicted Trump in the classified documents case, stating that the charges were related to “felony violations of our national security laws as well as participating in a conspiracy to obstruct justice.” It is unclear if Smith’s office is also looking into the reported phone calls to the Arizona governor regarding Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.

A Republican donor, who spoke anonymously, revealed that Ducey felt pressured by Trump to overturn the election results, which Trump lost by over 10,000 votes. Ducey confirmed that he had spoken with both Trump and then Vice President Mike Pence, but did not disclose the nature of the calls, which were not recorded.

After certifying Arizona’s election results, Ducey took to Twitter on November 30 to defend the integrity of the state’s election laws and emphasize that no disenfranchisement had occurred.

“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.

Christie argued that Trump lost the 2020 election in Arizona and other crucial states because he failed to fulfill the responsibilities entrusted to him by the American people.

Gabrielle M. Etzel contributed to this report.

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