Georgia Secretary of State’s office has formally opened an investigation into former U.S. President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the state’s 2020 election results. The investigation comes after Trump was recorded in a 02nd January phone call pressuring Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to overturn the state’s election results based on false voter fraud claims.
The Georgia Secretary of State’s office said Monday such investigations are routine in response to complaints. “The investigations are fact-finding and administrative in nature,” spokesman Walter Jones said. “Any further legal efforts will be left to the attorney general.”
During the call, Trump pushed Raffensperger to “find” votes to overturn the election results after his loss to then-President-elect Joe Biden, according to an audio recording first released by The Washington Post and later obtained by CNN. “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,” Trump had said.
There have been no credible allegations of any issues with voting that would have impacted the election, as affirmed by dozens of judges, governors, election officials, the Electoral College, the Justice Department, the Department of Homeland Security and the US Supreme Court.
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 the performance of election duties. The felony and misdemeanour violations are punishable by fines or imprisonment.
The Georgia investigation comes on the eve of Trump’s impeachment trial in the Senate on a charge that he incited an insurrection by telling supporters to go to the U.S. Capitol and “fight like hell.” The melee that followed forced members of Congress to evacuate their chambers and left five people dead, including a Capitol Police officer.
Trump’s lawyers don’t dispute the accuracy of that recording but denied that Trump threatened Raffensperger and said there was nothing inappropriate in the president asking Georgia to “find” more votes. The former president meant that if officials examined the evidence, they would find fraud, the lawyers said.
The Georgia investigation was first reported by the New York Times.
