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The prosecutor in Fulton County, Georgia, has opened a criminal investigation into alleged attempts by Donald Trump to influence the outcome of the presidential election in the state, which he narrowly lost against Joe Biden.
Prosecutor Fani Willis sent letters Wednesday morning to Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and Attorney General Chris Carr, writing that the investigation is a “highly questionable matter. priority “. Copies of the letters to the four officials were provided to CBS News.
Sources with the offices of Willis and Raffensperger confirmed that the prosecutor is requesting documents relating to a phone call recorded on January 2 Mr. Trump spoke to Raffensperger, among others, although the letters do not explicitly name Mr. Trump or refer to the phone call.
During the call, Mr Trump asked, “What are we going to do here, guys? I only need 11,000 votes. Guys, I need 11,000 votes. Give it a go. me a break. ”
Willis wrote in his letter that his office “has opened an investigation into attempts to influence the administration of the 2020 Georgia general election. This investigation includes, but is not limited to, potential violations of Georgian law prohibiting solicitation of electoral fraud, misrepresentation to state and local authorities, conspiracy, racketeering, violation of the oath of office and any involvement in violence or threats related to the administration of the elections. “
The letter was first reported by The New York Times.
In a January 10 interview with CBS News’ “60 minutes, “Raffensperger discussed the call and said he believed the president and his team were” just trying to intimidate me and coax me into something. “
“He was asking us to recalibrate or recalculate, I believe it was, recalculate – sort of get a different answer. But I’m an engineer. And anyone who’s good at numbers knows you can calculate anything you want, but the numbers are the numbers, ”Raffensperger said.
A source familiar with the matter said in early January that Raffensperger’s office had received 18 attempted calls from the White House since polling day, November 3. The source said the Jan. 2 call with Mr Trump was the first to include Raffensperger himself.
Raffensperger’s office confirmed on Monday that it was conducting its own investigation into the appeal.
Willis, a Democrat who is the first black woman elected as a Fulton County district attorney, took office on Jan.1.
She demanded that the offices of the four senior state officials, all of whom are Republicans, retain all documents relating to the presidential election, “ paying particular attention to setting aside and preserving those who may be proof of attempts to influence people’s actions. who administered this election. “
Asked to comment on the investigation, Jason Miller, senior adviser to Mr. Trump, criticized Willis’ decision to send the letter on the day arguments were due to begin in the former president’s second impeachment trial.
“The timing here is no accident given today’s impeachment trial. This is simply the Democrats’ latest attempt to score political points by continuing their witch hunt against President Trump, and everyone sees it through, ”Miller said.
In his letter, Willis referred to media reports indicating that Mr. Trump and members of his team contacted several state officials as part of his efforts to call off the election. She wrote that her office “is the only competent body that does not witness the conduct under investigation.”
Willis wrote that subpoenas can be expected after Fulton County called its next grand jury in March.
“At this stage, we have no reason to believe that a Georgian official is the target of this investigation,” added Willis.
Adam Brewster contributed reporting for this story.
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