Like the impeachment trial, nearly all the evidence was recorded.
Unlike the impeachment trial, this is an official investigation run by the people who run the elections in Georgia.
Raffensperger had previously stated that he could not be involved in any investigation because he was a party to the call. Apparently an investigator in the SoS office filed the complaint. And the SoS is obligated to look into it.
Also last we heard, the Fulton County DA Fani Willis was looking into starting her own investigation.
(More about that, below)
First, here’s the transcript of the phone call: newsadvance.com/…
And now the new news:
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Georgia’s Secretary of State’s office opened a probe on Monday into former U.S. President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the state’s 2020 election results, a step that could lead to a criminal investigation by state and local authorities.
Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger had faced calls to open a probe after Trump was recorded in a Jan. 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 Raffensperger’s office, describing the investigation as “fact finding and administrative.”
“Any further legal efforts will be left to the attorney general.”
He said the probe, which was first reported by Reuters, was prompted by a complaint filed on Monday by George Washington University law professor John Banzhaf.
Banzhaf told Reuters he spoke with an investigator in Raffensperger’s office on Monday, hours after he filed the complaint requesting a probe into Trump’s potential election interference. It was his fourth such complaint to Georgia officials since the Jan. 2 call, he said.
[...]
Legal experts say 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 misdemeanor violations are punishable by fines or imprisonment.
And now about Fulton CO DA impending investigation:
With a member of the election board vowing to push for the Trump-Raffensperger call investigation to be sent to the Fulton County DA, Trump could face a local trial.
Author: Christopher Buchanan, Hope Ford
Published: 11:26 PM EST January 18, 2021
Updated: 2:40 PM EST January 19, 2021
ATLANTA — With at least one Georgia elections board member vowing to push for Trump to be tried by a local district attorney, questions have arisen about how such an unusual trial could play out.
On Monday, 11Alive spoke with a former federal prosecutor about what he thought of the possibility. Bret Williams owns BRW Law Group in Atlanta and is a former prosecutor for both the Southern District of New York and the Northern District of Georgia totaling 17 years.
And while he also worked previously in the voting section of the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division, he said this potential trial would be unusual - even for him.
"In my ... understanding of history and research, it is unprecedented," he said. "I don't know, I can't think of another situation like this."
The case in question hasn't yet materialized, but new developments suggest it could.
[...]
But, even if they did, Williams said this would likely be neither a "slam dunk" nor an automatic acquittal.
"You can make arguments on both sides as to what the intent is," he said.
He said it would largely come down to whether Trump intended to have Raffensperger find the votes in question or if the remark was somewhat of an off-handed comment.
An off-handed comment.
Right.
An offhanded comment, repeated in different ways, for over an hour?
“You know, I mean, I’m notifying you that you’re letting it happen. So look. All I want to do is this. I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have because we won the state.
And flipping the state is a great testament to our country because, you know, this is — it’s a testament that they can admit to a mistake or whatever you want to call it. If it was a mistake, I don’t know. A lot of people think it wasn’t a mistake. It was much more criminal than that. But it’s a big problem in Georgia, and it’s not a problem that’s going away. I mean, you know, it’s not a problem that’s going away.
— President Donald Trump
“Find 11,780 votes”
“flipping the state”
His intent is for the SoS to do whatever it takes to give him Georgia’s electoral votes.
He mentioned the EXACT NUMBER OF VOTES necessary to FLIP the STATE.
And by stating it that way ("flipping the state”) means he already knew he had lost the state.
That’s what incriminates him most, in my eyes………...