Prosecutors in Fulton County, Georgia, are launching an investigation into Donald Trump’s phone calls to Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger regarding the 2020 presidential election results, according to a letter seen by Reuters on Wednesday, in the second criminal probe faced by the former president.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has sent a letter asking state government officials to preserve documents, including those related to then-President Trump’s call to Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger pressuring him to “find” more votes.
The audio and full transcript of the January 2 conversation have been released. At issue is Trump’s comment “So look. All I want to do is this. I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have because we won the state.”
“This matter is of high priority, and I am confident that as fellow law enforcement officers sworn to uphold the Constitutions of the United States and Georgia, our acquisition of information and evidence of potential crimes via interviews, documents, videos and electronic records will be cooperative,” said the letter dated Feb. 10.
“This letter is notification that all records potentially related to the administration of the 2020 General Election must be preserved, with particular care being given to set aside and preserve those that may be evidence of attempts to influence the actions of persons who were administering that election.”
Representatives for the county prosecutor’s office and for Trump did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
This comes on the heels of Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s office launching a probe of the same calls Monday.
“The Secretary of State’s office investigates complaints it receives,” said Walter Jones, a spokesman for Raffensperger’s office, describing the investigation as “fact finding and administrative.”
“Any further legal efforts will be left to the attorney general.”
Legal experts say Trump’s phone calls may have violated at least three state criminal election laws: conspiracy to commit election fraud, criminal solicitation to commit election fraud, and intentional interference with performance of election duties. The felony and misdemeanor violations are punishable by fines or imprisonment.
New York prosecutors have also opened criminal and civil investigations into Trump over his businesses.
The New York Times first reported the investigation.
Reuters contributed to this report.
Article Source : thefederalistpapers.org
