Georgia prosecutors are believed to be in possession of texts and emails directly linking members of Donald Trump’s legal team to the January 2021 voting system violation in Coffee County.
Investigators believe Trump’s team pushed ‘top down’ to gain access to voting software – and messages obtained by CNN are supposed to show how Trump’s lawyers attempted to access the county’s voting systems.
Just six days before they were accessed, local elections official Misty Hampton, accused of contributing to the breach, wrote and sent a “written invitation” to attorneys working for Trump, CNN reports.
Katherine Friess, an attorney working with Giuliani, reportedly shared the written invitation with Trump allies on Jan. 1, 2021 — just days before Biden’s inauguration.
Security at the Fulton County Courthouse has been tightened in recent days as District Attorney Fani Willis is expected to soon announce a possible grand jury indictment in his investigation of the former president.
The Fulton County Courthouse has tightened security as Fani Willis (pictured) is expected to announce a possible grand jury indictment soon in her investigation into the former president.
It comes against the backdrop of Trump’s long list of legal troubles – including 40 federal charges in Florida, the Stormy Daniels silence case in Manhattan and the federal indictment related to the January 6 insurgency in Capitol.
According to CNN, Friess shared it with employees of Sullivan Strickler, a firm hired by Trump’s attorneys to examine voting systems in Georgia County.
One of the company’s employees then sent this text to a group chat with colleagues: “Very immediately, we just got access – by written invitation! – to Coffee County systems. Yay!’
Friess also sent an “invitation letter to Coffee County, Georgia” to Bernie Kerik, a former NYPD police commissioner, the same day.
Kerik reportedly worked with Rudy Giuliani to find evidence that would support their claims of voter fraud – part of the desperate search for evidence to delay Joe Biden’s nomination.
Georgia prosecutors say the communications would link Giuliani to the voting violation. But that was shot down by his lawyers.
Robert Costello, his lawyer, said: “Rudy Giuliani had nothing to do with this. You can’t relate Rudy Giuliani to Sidney Powell’s crackpot idea.
It comes against the backdrop of Trump’s long list of legal troubles – including 40 federal charges in Florida, the Stormy Daniels silence case in Manhattan and the federal indictment related to the January 6 insurgency in Capitol.
And he could face more charges next week, this time in Georgia.
On Saturday, Donald Trump said he would “never accept a plea deal” as Georgia prosecutors prepare to appear before a grand jury early next week with their probe into US election interference. former president and his allies.
‘We did nothing wrong. We never accept a plea deal. We do not accept plea agreements. It’s a wise question,’ Trump told reporters on the Des Moines airport tarmac after his visit to the Iowa State Fair.
“We don’t take plea deals because we haven’t done anything wrong. This is called election interference,” he said.
A plea deal could prevent the former president from facing jail time if he is found guilty in any of the three indictments he faces.
Two witnesses in the case, former Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan and freelance journalist George Chidi, revealed on Saturday that they were told to appear before a Fulton County grand jury on Tuesday to testify about efforts by Trump and its allies to overturn the 2020 election results. in this state.
The courthouse has more security in place as Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is expected to soon announce a possible grand jury indictment in his investigation of former President Donald Trump.
Barricades run along the street outside the Fulton County Courthouse on August 8, 2023
It indicates Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is moving forward with a grand jury presentation where she is expected to file charges against more than a dozen people as part of her investigation into efforts to cancel the 2020 elections.
His investigation focused on efforts to pressure state election officials, the conspiracy to propose bogus voters, and a violation of voting systems in rural Coffee County, Georgia.
It began shortly after Trump phoned the state’s top election official, Republican Brad Raffensperger, and urged him to “find” enough votes to change the result. Trump called it “the perfect phone call” and said he was doing nothing wrong.
If Trump is indicted in Georgia, it would follow his federal indictment earlier this month related to his attempts to overturn the 2020 election results.
Unlike federal convictions, however, if re-elected president, Trump could not attempt to forgive himself if convicted of state crimes in Georgia. He could also face a state trial if he is in the Oval Office. Traditionally, the Justice Department does not prosecute presidents, but state prosecutors have no such rule.
If Trump is indicted in Georgia, he will have to travel to Atlanta immediately to be booked and arraigned.
Numerous security measures are in place at the downtown courthouse.
In a post Saturday on his Truth Social site, Trump again called the Georgia investigation a “witch hunt.”
He has called all investigations against him a political prosecution as he makes a new bid for the White House.
Additionally, Trump has been spending money at a hefty pace on his legal defense.
In the first half of 2023, his political action committee received $67 million in donations but spent more than $90 million, including $27 million on Trump’s legal fees, averaging 30 cents on every dollar raised.
That’s a shortfall of $23 million, with the ex-president potentially forced to dip into his own pockets after being charged again just weeks ago.
