Former President Donald Trump‘s legal troubles are continuing to pile up, with Special Counsel Jack Smith most recently issuing a subpoena to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.
A subpoena dated Friday and received by Raffensperger’s office on Monday demanded that he hand over “any and all communications” involving Trump and his allies from June 1, 2020, to January 10, 2021, according to the Associated Press. Trump called Raffensperger days before the January 6 siege on the U.S. Capitol to demand that he “find” enough votes to overturn his 2020 Georgia election loss to President Joe Biden.
Trump has insisted that his call with Raffensperger was “perfect” and described criticism of his attempt to thwart the election loss, which he falsely claims was due to massive voter fraud, as a political “witch hunt.” The former president went on to endorse a GOP primary challenger to Raffensperger this year, although the incumbent easily brushed aside the challenge and was reelected in November.
Smith’s subpoena of Raffensperger specifically requires that he provide any communications from Trump and his campaign, as well as a number of high-profile aides and lawyers who worked with the former president. Campaign officials Justin Clark and Bill Stepien are specifically named, according to AP, as are lawyers John Eastman, Boris Epshteyn, Lin Wood, Sidney Powell and Rudy Giuliani.
Smith was appointed by the Department of Justice (DOJ) last month to oversee the federal investigation into Trump’s attempts to overturn his 2020 election loss, including his role in the January 6 insurrection. He is also overseeing a separate federal investigation into Trump’s post-presidency possession of classified documents, which were found in Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home in Florida.
Additionally, Trump’s post-election activities in Georgia are the focus of an investigation being overseen by Fani Willis, district attorney of Fulton County. A grand jury that has already heard testimony from a number of high-profile Trump allies is reportedly expected to wrap up the state investigation soon.
Renato Mariotti, former federal prosecutor, said on Twitter that Smith’s subpoena of Raffensperger indicates that his investigation of Trump’s January 6 activities is not as “far along” as the classified documents case but still being handled “aggressively.”
“These grand jury subpoenas make clear that Special Counsel Jack Smith is aggressively pursuing the January 6th investigation, including the ‘fake electors’ scheme,” Mariotti tweeted. “They also indicate that this investigation is at an early stage, unlike the Mar-a-Lago case, which is far along.”
These grand jury subpoenas make clear that Special Counsel Jack Smith is aggressively pursuing the January 6th investigation, including the “fake electors” scheme.
They also indicate that this investigation is at an early stage, unlike the Mar-a-Lago case, which is far along. https://t.co/UvtfYK4uz2
— Renato Mariotti (@renato_mariotti) December 13, 2022
Mariotti went on to predict that Trump could be facing charges in the Mar-a-Lago case “within weeks,” regardless of Smith’s January 6 investigation being at “an early stage.”
Smith’s subpoena of Raffensperger emerged only days after a federal appeals court overruled Trump-appointed U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon’s ruling to appoint a special master to review documents recovered from Mar-a-Lago. Legal observers have suggested that the DOJ, as well as Smith, are likely to soon find the documents available for use in any potential prosecutions.
Cannon signed off on the order to overturn her ruling on Monday. Liberal commentators have been increasingly calling for an investigation into Cannon and the decision-making process that led to her initial ruling.
Newsweek has reached out to the offices of Raffensperger and Trump for comment.
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