The Atlanta, Georgia, Fulton County District Attorney, is weighing an Inquiry into possible Election Interference and is said to be considering Hiring an Outside Counsel.
The Criminal Investigation of Trump is over his attempts to Overturn the Results of the State’s 2020 Election, an Inquiry into Offenses that would be beyond his Federal Pardon Power. The New Fulton County District Attorney, Fani Willis, is weighing whether to Proceed.
At the same time, David Worley, the lone Democrat on Georgia’s Five-Member Election Board, said this week that he would ask the Board to make a Referral to the Fulton County District Attorney by next month. Among the matters he will ask Prosecutors to Investigate is the Phone Call Trump made in which he Pressured Georgia’s Secretary of State to Overturn the State’s Election Results.
Jeff DiSantis, a District Attorney Spokesman, said the Office had Not taken any Action yet to Hire Outside Counsel.
Some Veteran Georgia Prosecutors said they believed Trump had clearly Violated State Law. “If you took the fact out that he is the president of the United States and look at the conduct of the call, it tracks the communication you might see in any drug case or organized crime case,” said Michael J. Moore, the Former United States Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia. “It’s full of threatening undertone and strong-arm tactics.” He said he believed there had been “a clear attempt to influence the conduct of the secretary of state, and to commit election fraud, or to solicit the commission of election fraud.”
Worley said in an interview that if No Investigation had been announced by Feb. 10th, the Day of the Election Board’s next Scheduled Meeting he would make a Motion for the Board to Refer the Matter of Trump’s Phone Calls to Willis’s Office. Worley, a Lawyer, believes that such a Referral should, under Georgia Law, Automatically prompt an Investigation. If the Board Declines to make a Referral, Worley said he would ask Ms. Willis’s Office himself to Start an Inquiry.
Brad Raffensperger (R), the Secretary of State, is One of the Members of the Board and has said that he might have a Conflict of Interest in the matter, as Trump called him to exert Pressure. That could lead him to Recuse himself from any Decisions on a Referral by the Board.
Worley said he would introduce the Motion based on an Outside Complaint filed with the State Election Board by John F. Banzhaf III, a George Washington University Law Professor. Banzhaf and other Legal Experts say Trump’s calls may Run Afoul of at least Three State Criminal Laws. One is Criminal Solicitation to Commit Election Fraud, which can be either a Felony or a Misdemeanor. There is also a related Conspiracy Charge, which can be Prosecuted either as a Misdemeanor or a Felony. A Third Law, a Misdemeanor Offense, bars “intentional interference” with another Person’s “performance of election duties.”
“My feeling based on listening to the phone call is that they probably will see if they can get it past a grand jury,” said Joshua Morrison, a Former Senior Assistant District Attorney in Fulton County who once worked closely with Ms. Willis. “It seems clearly there was a crime committed.” He noted that Fulton County, which encompasses much of Atlanta, is not friendly territory for Trump if he were to face a Grand Jury there.
The Inquiry, if it comes to pass, would be the Third known Criminal Investigation of Trump outside of Federal Pardon Power:
- Trump is facing a Criminal Fraud Inquiry into his Finances by the New York's Manhattan District Attorney, Cyrus R. Vance Jr.
- Trump, Ivanka, and Donald Trump Jr., are facing Criminal Charges in North Carolina, over Cheating Investors over Investing into a Product to Sell, that was Outdated.
Even Georgia’s Governor, Brian Kemp (R), does Not have the Power to Pardon at the State level, though it’s Not assured that he would issue a Pardon anyway, given his frayed Relationship with Trump. Nonetheless, in Georgia, Pardons are handled by a State Board.
The question of whether or Not to Charge the Nation’s 45th President would present a unique Challenge for any District Attorney. Willis, who took Office only days ago, is a Seasoned Prosecutor not Unaccustomed to the Limelight and Criticism. A Graduate of Howard University and the Emory University School of Law in the Atlanta area, she is the First Woman, and the Second African-American, to hold the Job of Top Prosecutor in Fulton County, Georgia’s most Populous, with more than One Million Residents.
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