In addition to Mr. Graham and Mr. Giuliani, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that the 23-person special jury has also moved to compel attorneys John Eastman, Cleta Mitchell, Kenneth Chesbro and Jenna Ellis, as well as attorney and podcast host Jacki Pick. Deason to testify in the investigation into efforts by Mr. Trump’s associates to pressure Georgia officials to take illegal action to overturn Mr. Biden’s victory after he became the first Democrat to hold the Peach State since then-Gov. Arkansas Bill Clinton defeated then-President George HW. Bush in 1992. The grand jury is looking into whether Trump or any of his GOP allies broke Georgia law by trying to pressure Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and Gov. Brian Kemp to refuse to certify Biden’s victory or by arguing that Georgia lawmakers they must illegally ignore the will of the voters by appointing pro-Trump electors who would then vote for Mr. Trump when the US Electoral College convenes on December 14, 2020. A subpoena recipient, Mr. Eastman, was also the subject of an investigation by a House select committee on January 6, which found that the former Chapman University law professor pressured then-Vice President Mike Pence to break the law by unilaterally skipping elections votes from swing states won by Biden during the January 6, 2021 session in which Congress certified his electoral college victory over Trump. Earlier this year, a federal judge in California found that Mr. Eastman and Mr. Trump “probably … dishonestly conspired to obstruct” that joint meeting, which was briefly suspended when a rowdy mob of Trump supporters broke through. at the capitol. the worst attack on America’s legislature since Lt. Gen. Robert Ross ordered British troops to burn it during the War of 1812. Mr. Eastman also pressed Georgia lawmakers during a post-election hearing in which he claimed there was “more than enough” evidence that Biden’s victory was so tainted that it should be overturned by lawmakers. Both Trump and Mr. Graham made separate calls to Mr. Raffensberger in the days after the 2020 election to press him to find a way to throw out absentee ballots for Biden or somehow find enough votes to make Trump victorious in the Peach State. According to a copy of the subpoena seen by The Independent, the Georgia judge who signed the document found that Mr. Graham “asked Secretary Raffensperger and his staff about the review of certain absentee ballots taken in Georgia in order to investigate the possibility of more favorable outcome for [Mr Trump” and “made reference to allegations of widespread voter fraud in the November 2020 clection in Georgia, consistent with public statements made by known affiliates of the ‘Trump Campaign” during “at least two telephone calls to [Mr Raffensperger] and members of his staff in the weeks following the November 2020 election.” Ms. Mitchell, who served as a lawyer for Trump’s campaign, also sat in on the phone call between Mr. Trump and Mr. Raffensperger, in which the then-president pleaded with the election official to “find 11,780 votes” – number which would have erased Mr. Biden’s margin of victory. The same judge who approved the subpoenas against Trump’s other allies found that Ms. Mitchell “made allegations of widespread voter fraud in the November 2020 election in Georgia and exerted pressure [Mr Raffensperger] to take action in his official capacity to investigate baseless allegations of fraud” during Mr Trump’s now infamous conversation with Georgia’s top election official. The Georgia investigation is being overseen by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who launched it in early 2021 after the Washington Post released a recording of Mr. Trump’s conversation with Mr. Raffensperger and later expanded it to include include Mr. Giuliani and Mr. Eastman’s pressure. campaign against Georgia MPs. While the special tribunal cannot issue charges, it is authorized to sit until May 2023 and may issue a report recommending Ms Willis seek criminal charges. Some of Mr Trump’s targets, including Mr Raffensperger and Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr, have already testified in closed sessions before the committee. A spokesman for Mr Graham did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment from the Independent. A text message to Mr Giuliani seeking comment was also not immediately returned.
