Former president Donald Trump on Monday lashed out at the Georgia prosecutor who is overseeing a grand jury probe into efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss in the Peach State.
In a statement released by his political action committee, Mr Trump accused Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis of “spending almost all of her waking hours” on “attempting to prosecute a very popular president, Donald J Trump” rather than focusing on violent crime in Atlanta.
The twice-impeached ex-president said Ms Willis “ is basing her potential claims on trying to find a tiny word or phrase (that isn’t there) during an absolutely PERFECT phone call,” a now-infamous conversation between Mr Trump, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, and a group of Trump campaign attorneys and associates.
That phone call, which was recorded and later leaked to news outlets, was when Mr Trump asked Mr Raffensperger — Georgia’s top elections official — to “find 11,780 votes” so his loss to Joe Biden in the state could be invalidated.
Mr Trump also claimed that “many lawyers and other officials who were knowingly on the line” during his conversation with Mr Raffensperger had “no problems with the call,” which has been a major focus of the special grand jury Ms Willis has been supervising.
In recent weeks, the Fulton County investigation has seen many of Mr Trump’s top advisers and allies receive subpoenas, including Mark Meadows — his ex-chief of staff — and his former personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani.
Trump campaign legal advisers John Eastman, Cleta Mitchell, Kenneth Chesebro and Jenna Ellis have been subpoenaed by the grand jury as well. Although Mr Trump has not yet been revealed to be a target of the probe, Mr Giuliani has said he has recieved a target letter from investigators.
Legal experts say Mr Trump’s phone call could be a significant exhibit if the ex-president or any of his associates are indicted by Ms Willis, and many of said the ex-president’s greatest legal peril could come from the Fulton County probe.
Yet the twice-impeached former president said none of the lawyers on the call voiced “any objections or complaints about anything that I said on the call which could be construed as inappropriate”.
But in an interview with The Washington Post, Ms Willis called the allegations under investigation “very serious” and said “people are facing prison” if they are indicted and convicted as a result of her work.
