During a new appearance on CNN, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) laid out the case for the potential criminal prosecution of former President Donald Trump over his efforts to get Joe Biden’s presidential election victory in Georgia overturned. At one point, Trump directly spoke with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, imploring the top official to “find” the votes that would have been necessary to deliver the then-president a victory in the state — although, contrary to what Trump may have claimed, there weren’t thousands of lost Trump votes in Georgia. Complying with Trump’s demand would have required Raffensperger to fraudulently meddle with the election results.
Trump had an ally in his efforts. Then-Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark promoted Trump’s falsehoods to the point that he drafted a letter that he wished for the department to send to Georgia state legislators, claiming that officials identified “significant concerns that may have impacted of the outcome of the election in multiple States, including the State of Georgia.” This claim was incorrect — but the letter also urged Georgia officials to convene a special legislative session to examine the issues. In the aftermath of the election, Trump’s side repeatedly sought to pressure state legislators into appointing members of the electoral college from their respective jurisdictions that would have backed Trump instead of Biden.
Now, Atlanta-area District Attorney Fani Willis has begun an investigation of Trump’s Georgia antics. Schiff commented as follows:
‘In terms of all of the former president’s conduct, among the most egregious and frankly, among the most worthy of investigation with an eye to potential prosecution, is what the former president tried to do in Georgia. There he was, on the phone, in a recorded conversation, asking the Secretary of State to find 11,870 votes that don’t exist. Anyone else doing that would have been prosecuted already. And the evidence… these internal letters, and other discussions going on by [Jeffrey] Clark — no doubt at the urging of Donald Trump — to try to give the Georgia legislature a reason to convene and overturn the results, would be more evidence in that case out of Georgia.’
Schiff also said on CNN that he “certainly hope[s] that the U.S. Justice Department, as well as Georgia officials are studying the president’s conduct, because it seems to cross the line into illegality, and it is very much deserving of an investigation.”
Watch Schiff’s comments below:
.@RepAdamSchiff: "In terms of all of the former president's conduct, among the most egregious and frankly, among the most worthy of investigation with an eye to potential prosecution, is an eye towards what the former president tried to do in Georgia." pic.twitter.com/eyCvOkHYQo
— The Hill (@thehill) August 6, 2021
