WASHINGTON – Georgia prosecutors have opened a criminal investigation into former President Donald Trump’s efforts to reverse the state’s election results, NBC News confirmed on Wednesday.
The Fulton County Prosecutor’s investigation will look into a damn phone call Trump made to Georgian Foreign Secretary Brad Raffensperger when he was president, asking Trump to “find” the votes for President’s victory Joe Biden repent.
Fulton County Attorney Fani Willis sent a letter to government officials, including Raffensperger, on Wednesday requesting that their offices keep documents related to the call, according to an official with knowledge of the letter.
NBC News checked the contents of the letter, which specifically states that the request is part of a criminal investigation into several charges, ranging from false statements to “any involvement in violence or threats related to the election administration”.
Georgia is now the second state, after New York, to have Trump under investigation.
Raffensperger’s office has also opened a separate investigation into the phone call, NBC News reported earlier this week. The bureau confirmed that it opened the investigation after receiving a complaint about Trump’s behavior.
During the January 2 phone call, Trump said to Raffensperger, “I just want to do this. I just want to get 11,780 votes, one more than us. Because we won the state.”
Georgia confirmed Biden’s victory several times after the November elections.
Willis suggested they could open an investigation in a statement last month describing the call as “disruptive”.
“Anyone who violates Georgian law in my jurisdiction will be held accountable. As soon as the investigation is completed, this matter will be treated like all matters by our office on a fact-and-law basis,” Willis said at the time .
Willis and Raffensperger did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Georgia governor Brian Kemp and Georgia attorney general Chris Carr also did not immediately return requests for comment.
The criminal investigation, first reported Wednesday by the New York Times, comes as the Senate is holding its impeachment trial against Trump for his role in the January 6 attack on the Capitol. House Democrats executives pursuing the case against the former president will present their opening arguments on Wednesday, which include “never-before-seen” footage of the deadly uprising at the Capitol.
Meanwhile, Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance has been investigating “potentially extensive and lengthy criminal conduct at Trump Organization,” Trump’s family company, which could include business forgery, tax fraud and insurance fraud. New York attorney general Letitia James is also investigating four separate Trump Organization real estate projects and the former president’s failed attempt to buy the NFL’s Buffalo Bills.