ATLANTA — Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has requested a special grand jury to aid in her investigation of former President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
The panel would investigate if former president Donald Trump broke the law when he asked Georgia’s Secretary of State to “find” him enough votes to overturn the election results in the state.
The request was recorded in a now-infamous phone call on Jan. 2 in which Trump pressured Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to reverse then-President-elect Joe Biden’s slim, 11,779-vote lead in Georgia.
Willis said in a letter to the chief judge of Fulton County’s Superior Court that a special grand jury was needed because so many witnesses have refused to cooperate with the investigation without a subpoena.
Special grand juries typically have 16 to 23 members and can subpoena witnesses, compel the production of documents and inspect and enter offices to investigate.
RELATED STORIES:
- Trump pressured Raffensperger to overturn election results in phone call, recordings reveal
- LISTEN: Full audio recording of call between Trump, Raffensperger
- Georgia Secretary of State opens investigation into Trump’s attempts to overturn election results
Channel 2′s Dave Huddleston has talked extensively with Willis, who said she will follow the facts of the case where they lead her, and she will investigate and indict, if necessary, anyone who breaks the law in Fulton County.
The investigation also focuses on a November 2020 phone call between U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham and Raffensperger, the abrupt resignation of the U.S. attorney in Atlanta on Jan. 4, 2021, and comments made during December 2020 Georgia legislative committee hearings on the election.
[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Trump has repeatedly attacked Georgia’s election process, claiming without evidence that the state’s 16 electoral votes were wrongly given to Biden because of widespread voter fraud. Georgia’s top Republican officials have repeatedly denied those claims.
Willis’ request has to be approved by a majority of Fulton County’s superior court judges to move forward.
Trump released a statement Thursday afternoon, saying:
“My phone call to the Secretary of State of Georgia was perfect, perhaps even more so than my call with the Ukrainian President, if that’s possible. I knew there were large numbers of people on the line, including numerous lawyers for both sides. Although I assumed the call may have been inappropriately, and perhaps illegally, recorded, I was not informed of that. I didn’t say anything wrong in the call, made while I was President on behalf of the United States of America, to look into the massive voter fraud which took place in Georgia. Just last week, it was further determined that they are looking into ballot harvesting in Fulton County, after supposedly watching tapes of it actually taking place. This alone could be tens of thousands of votes. What this Civil Special Grand Jury should be looking into is not my perfect phone call, but the large scale voter fraud that took place in Georgia. Then they would be doing a great job for the people. No more political witch hunts!”
RELATED NEWS:
:quality(70)/d1hfln2sfez66z.cloudfront.net/01-03-2021/t_a06fd576b57148e7b267bf4397c0e228_name_Trump_call_to_GA__Secy__of_State_Brad_Raffensperger.jpg)
©2022 Cox Media Group
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/NRIQGFSE5NHDHOFUHHI4SUGT7U.jpeg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/O2WQNWWP3ZEKDDGCV5O3HD747U.png)
:quality(70)/d1hfln2sfez66z.cloudfront.net/11-13-2024/t_44657d8567a14c4fad08aa135e9824b9_name_Henry_Co__HOA_board_unseated_after_homeowners_receive__29K_assessment.jpeg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/QBNCY7F436FFVPTS2ZD6AHYMOQ.jpg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/KFNYV2ROENAONH52SIWATMR2JE.png)