In case anyone had any doubts, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has made her most explicit statement to date regarding the target of her investigation into alleged attempts at improperly influencing the outcome of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia. Willis’ letter sent Sunday to the FBI requesting a “risk assessment” of the county courthouse and the surrounding area has been covered by Daily Kos and other news outlets. Willis’ letter cited “alarming” rhetoric used by the defeated former guy at a rally in Conroe, Texas, on Saturday night.
What has received less notice is just how Willis opened her letter to the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Atlanta field office, J.C. Hacker.
She wrote:
”You are likely aware that I am conducting a criminal investigation of former President Donald J. Trump and his associates regarding alleged attempts to improperly influence the administration of Georgia’s 2020 presidential election. Be advised that on May 2, 2022, a Fulton County Special Purpose Grand Jury will convene as the next stage of this investigation. My staff and I will not be influenced or intimidated by anyone as this investigation moves forward.”
Here is a link to a copy of Willis’ letter.
In her letter, Willis referred to Trump’s remarks at his Texas rally and quoted him verbatim. “Mr. Trump made multiple references to investigations that are known to concern his activities, and the activities of his associates and organizations, including the criminal investigation underway in my office.”
She specifically mentioned these quotes by Trump:
“If these radical vicious, racist prosecutors do anything wrong or illegal, I hope we are going to have in this country the biggest protests we have ever had in Washington, D.C., in New York, in Atlanta and elsewhere because our country and our elections are corrupt.” […]
“It really is prosecutorial misconduct at the highest level. These prosecutors are vicious, horrible people. They’re racist and they’re very sick. They’re mentally sick. They’re going after me without any protection of my rights by the Supreme Court or most other courts. In reality they’re not after me, they’re after you and I just happen to be the person that’s in the way. ...”
Trump did not mention any prosecutors by name, but the locations he cited and his references to racism and being a victim indicate that he is referring to Willis, New York State Attorney General Letitia James, and New York County District Attorney Alvin Bragg as well as Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, chair of the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol assault. All four are black.
Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney, inherited a special grand jury convened by his predecessor Cyrus R. Vance Jr., to hear testimony in a criminal inquiry into the business dealings of the Trump Organization. However, Bragg has not explicitly said that Donald Trump is the target of his investigation. Other potential targets include Trump’s children—Don Jr., Ivanka, and Eric.
Willis then added that Trump’s “rhetoric is more alarming” because he told the crowd at the Texas rally that if elected president in 2024 he may pardon people convicted of crimes related to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
She asked the FBI to conduct a risk assessment of the Fulton County Courthouse and Government Center to make sure that protective resources are in place well in advance of the convening of the special grand jury on May 2. “We must work together to keep the public safe and ensure that we do not have a tragedy in Atlanta similar to what happened at the United States Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.”
Willis has smoking gun evidence of Trump’s direct involvement in attempts to overturn the Georgia presidential election results. The investigation is focusing on the tape of the Jan. 2, 2021, call Trump made to Georgia’s Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to pressure him to “find 11,780 votes”— the margin by which Trump lost the state.
Last month, the Superior Court of Fulton County in Georgia granted Willis’ request to impanel a special grand jury for the investigation into Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election in the state. The special grand jury has subpoena power and the authority to obtain documents. Willis said Raffensperger and several other potential witnesses have refused to cooperate with the investigation absent a subpoena.
Among the Trump associates who could be potential targets of Willis’ investigation are his personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, DOJ official Jeffrey Clark, and Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. All of them reportedly had contacts with Georgia election officials and/or state legislators aimed at overturning the election results.
Willis’ team is also looking at the sudden resignation of the Atlanta-based U.S. Attorney Bjay Pak; a telephone call Graham made to Raffensperger, and false claims made by Giuliani at a hearing before the state Senate’s Judiciary Committee. Willis has said her office was looking into such potential violations of Georgia law as criminal solicitation to commit election fraud, intentional interference with the performance of election duties, conspiracy, and racketeering.
No comments:
Post a Comment