Atlanta DA now investigating voting systems breach in central Georgia county as part of Trump probe

On Friday, the Associated Press reported that Fulton County, Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis is now investigating a voting systems breach in Coffee County, a small area 200 miles south of Atlanta, as part of her investigation into former President Donald Trump and his allies' efforts to overturn the election in the state.

"The widening of the probe highlights the latest instance in which unauthorized people appear to have gained access to voting equipment since the 2020 election, primarily in battleground states lost by Trump," reported Kate Brumback and Christina Cassidy. "Election experts have raised concerns that sensitive information shared online about the equipment may have exposed vulnerabilities that could be exploited by people intent on disrupting future elections."

Much of the focus is on Sidney Powell, the infamous "kraken" lawyer who tried to overturn multiple state elections on behalf of Trump and was eventually disavowed even by his own legal team.

"Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is seeking to have attorney Sidney Powell, who tried persistently to overturn Trump's loss, testify before a special grand jury seated for the investigation into possible illegal election interference," said the report. "In her court petition filed Thursday, Willis said Powell is 'known to be affiliated' with Trump and the Trump campaign and has unique knowledge about her communications with them and others 'involved in the multi-state, coordinated efforts to influence the results of the November 2020 elections in Georgia and elsewhere.'"

"The scope of Willis' criminal investigation has expanded considerably since it began, prompted by a Jan. 2, 2021, phone call in which Trump suggested Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger could 'find' the votes needed to overturn Trump's narrow election loss in the state," said the report. "Among other things, Willis wrote that she wants to ask Powell about rural Coffee County, where Trump beat President Joe Biden by nearly 40 percentage points ... In an email sent to Powell on Jan. 7, 2021, SullivanStrickler COO Paul Maggio said he and his team were 'on our way to Coffee County Georgia to collect what we can from the Election/Voting machines and systems.' He included an invoice for an 'initial retainer' of $26,000 to pay for a team of four people for one day. The subject of the invoice is 'Voting Machines Analysis.'"

This comes after another pro-Trump figure, Mesa County, Colorado clerk Tina Peters, was charged as part of a plot to breach elections equipment in that state.

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