ATLANTA, GA (NewsNation Now) — Georgia Secretary of State’s office has formally opened an investigation into former U.S. President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the state’s 2020 election results.
Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s office faced calls to open a probe after Trump was recorded in a Jan. 2 phone call discussing with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger a need to re-examine the results of the presidential election, and by doing so, the state would find enough votes to hand Trump the victory
“The Secretary of State’s office investigates complaints it receives,” Walter Jones, a spokesman for Secretary of State’s office told NewsNation.
He described the investigation as “fact finding and administrative.” Jones also added, “Any further legal efforts will be left to the the attorney general.”
In the call, Trump was heard telling Raffensperger at one point: “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.”
Trump made another phone call in December to Georgia’s chief elections investigator, Raffensperger’s office said.
The push for investigations is one of the legal perils facing Trump since he lost the constitutional protections that shield sitting presidents from prosecution. Trump now faces nearly a dozen legal battles, including a criminal probe by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance into his business dealings and several civil lawsuits.
Trump has described the investigations into his family business as politically motivated.
Reuters and Linda So contributed to this report.
