Washington (AFP) - A prosecutor in the US state of Georgia revealed Wednesday she was investigating former president Donald Trump's efforts to subvert its results in the November 3 election by pressuring local officials to alter the vote count.
In a letter to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis said she has opened an investigation "into attempts to influence the administration of the 2020 Georgia General Election," according to copies of the letter published by local media.
While the letter did not mention the ex-president by name, Raffensperger was on the receiving end of a lengthy phone call on January 2 in which Trump pressured him to throw out tens of thousands of votes that helped deliver the state to Democrat Joe Biden.
"I just want to find 11,780 votes," Trump told him, a recording of the hour-long call showed.
Trump later in the call suggested Raffensperger risked criminal charges if he did not oblige.
Willis says the investigation is focused on contacts between subjects of the investigation and Raffensperger, the governor, state attorney general and the federal prosecutor for the area -- all of whom had contact with Trump and his representatives after the vote.
The investigation will span potential charges of election fraud, false statements, conspiracy, racketeering and involvement in violence or threats related to the election, she said.
Trump's pressure campaign on Georgia to reverse Biden's win -- a key victory in the 2020 election -- was cited as evidence in the impeachment of Trump for incitement to insurrection in the January 6 attack by his supporters on the US Capitol.
In her letter, Willis, who represented the area around state capital Atlanta, told Raffensperger to preserve any evidence, and said a grand jury would be convened next month to issue subpoenas in the investigation.
