Donald Trump under investigation in Georgia for trying to overturn election results
- Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s office launched the probe over a January phone call from the former US president asking him to ‘find’ additional votes
- Trump had bragged about the call in a speech to supporters on the day of the US Capitol attack
The Georgia Secretary of State’s office opened an investigation on Monday into former US President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the state’s 2020 election results, according to an official in the office.
Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s office had faced calls to open a probe after Trump was recorded in a January 2 phone call pressuring Raffensperger to overturn the state’s election results based on unfounded voter fraud claims.
“The Secretary of State’s office investigates complaints it receives,” said Walter Jones, a spokesman for the Secretary of State’s office, describing the investigation as “fact finding and administrative”.
“Any further legal efforts will be left to the attorney general,” he said.
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[Audio] In clip released by Washington Post, Trump pushes Georgia official to change poll results
Legal experts said 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 misdemeanour violations are punishable by fines or imprisonment.
In the January 2 phone call, Trump urged Raffensperger, a fellow Republican, to “find” enough votes to overturn his Georgia loss. The transcript quotes Trump telling Raffensperger: “All I want to do is this: I just want to find 11,780 votes”, which is the number Trump needed to win.
