Georgia officials have opened an investigation into Donald Trump’s calls to election officials asking them to find votes for him.
The office of Georgia’s secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, on Monday started an investigation into former President Donald J. Trump’s attempts to overturn the state’s election results, including a phone call he made to Mr. Raffensperger in which Mr. Trump pressured him to “find†enough votes to reverse his loss.
Such inquiries are “fact-finding and administrative in nature,†the secretary’s office said, and are a routine step when complaints are received about electoral matters. Findings are typically brought before the Republican-controlled state board of elections, which decides whether to refer them for prosecution to the state attorney general or another agency.
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If the investigation finds that Trump broke the law by trying to pressure state officials to overturn the election, the former president could be referred to the state attorney general for prosecution. Normally, in a state dominated by Republican officials, it would be extremely unlikely that Trump would be prosecuted.
‘However, Georgia Republican politics are in a weird place right now. The state GOP has been torn apart by Trump’s false claims of election fraud. There is an open civil war ongoing among Georgia Republicans, and since November 2020, the state has been full of surprises.
The other complicating wrinkle is that Trump was taped trying to interfere in the election. The evidence against Trump is direct and first hand.
Trump could end up being criminally prosecuted. On the eve of his second impeachment trial, the possibility of criminal charges is both looming and real for Donald Trump.
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Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
