Democracy on Trial, Part Three: An “Invitation” for Jan. 6

The FRONTLINE Dispatch

GBH

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4.6 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 23 February 2024

⏱️ 40 minutes

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Summary

FRONTLINE investigates the roots of the federal criminal case against former President Donald Trump stemming from his 2020 election loss in a special audio version of the new documentary Democracy on Trial.

In part three, the Jan. 6 Select Committee examines the pressures mounting on the Justice Department and then-Vice President Mike Pence to intervene on Trump’s behalf. Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger recalls a phone call in which the former president tells him, “I just want to find 11,780 votes” — the number of votes needed to win the 2020 presidential election in the state. And the former president sends a now-famous tweet inviting supporters to Washington D.C. on Jan. 6, 2021, to protest the results of the 2020 election, saying it “will be wild.”

Tune in next week for the fourth and final installment of the audio-only version of the documentary here on The FRONTLINE Dispatch. Watch Democracy on Trial in full on FRONTLINE’s website, YouTube or the PBS App.

Transcript

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0:00.0	The president's intent was to stay in power at all costs.
0:06.0	This election was stolen.
0:08.0	I'm not going to break it. I'm not putting on no stinking circus.
0:11.0	They put their faith in Donald Trump and he deceived them.
0:13.6	The select committee laid the path down for the Department of Justice.
0:17.0	Donald Trump is going to be the defendant and the candidate.
0:20.0	It's hard to imagine how it's going to play out.
0:23.2	I'm Rainierrinson Roth, editor-in-chief,
0:25.4	and executive producer Frontline.
0:27.7	Today we're bringing you part three of an audio version
0:31.1	of our film Democracy on Trial. Frontline Dispatch is made possible by the Abrams Foundation committed to excellence in journalism and by the Frontline Journalism Fund with major support from John and Joanne Hagler.
0:51.0	Support for Frontline Dispatch comes from the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center,
0:55.0	dedicated to providing the latest therapies and cancer specialists who are experienced in your cancer.
1:00.0	When you hear the word cancer, their team is ready.
1:02.6	Learn more at mass general.org slash cancer.
1:06.8	Chapter heading, the phone call.
1:09.0	As the January 6th hearings continued,
1:12.2	the committee linked the efforts in Georgia to Trump personally.
1:17.0	They had evidence and a witness.
1:20.0	Committee Chair Benny Thompson.
1:22.0	Rad Rassens-Firburg is the 29th Secretary of State of Georgia serving in this role since 2019.
1:30.6	My job as Secretary of State is to make sure we have honest, fair, and accurate elections.
	...

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