Criminal investigators in Georgia are quietly moving forward with their probe into former president Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election results — including the infamous phone call in which he urged the secretary of state to "find" the votes necessary for him to win the state.
"Investigators are plowing ahead as Trump continues to weigh his political future and wade into Peach State politics with a Georgia rally set for late September," CNN reported Friday.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who is heading up the investigation, may soon get a big boost from the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection, which could provide a "mountain of documents" and help her "avoid lengthy court fights."
"What I can tell you is that the Trump investigation is ongoing," Willis told CNN this week. "As a district attorney, I do not have the right to look the other way on any crime that may have happened in my jurisdiction. We have a team of lawyers that is dedicated to that, but my No. 1 priority is to make sure that we keep violent offenders off the street."
Willlis' office reportedly has been struggling to juggle the Trump probe with a backlog of other cases and rising crime in Atlanta. "I'm here begging you for help. I'm drowning," Willis told Fulton County commissioners this week.
While the investigation appears to still be in its "early stages," sources familiar with it told CNN Willis' office has "obtained documents from the Georgia Secretary of State's office and interviewed a handful of its staff, spoken to other Georgia election officials about how elections are conducted and initiated conversations with congressional committees."
Willis broke into a smile this week when asked whether she hopes to reach a formal cooperation agreement with congressional investigators. "Oh, I hope so," she said. "It is certainly information that my office needs to see."
The district attorney kicked off her investigation "with a splash" in February when she sent letters asking Georgia officials to preserve documents, just a month after taking office. According to the letters, potential charges in the case include "solicitation of election fraud, the making of false statements to state and local governmental bodies, conspiracy, racketeering, violation of oath of office and any involvement in violence or threats related to the election's administration."
Naturally, Willis is facing political pressure to rush her investigation, but CNN reported that it's likely to stretch into next year, and she is playing it by the book.
"I know that people find that case to be interesting because it was a former sitting president. And that has some historic value. For me, it's not interesting," Willis said recently. "We will put the facts that are learned -- literally, cause I'm old school -- up on a wall, what those facts are. We will put the statutes that we believe those facts could or could not touch. We will see if the elements of a crime are met. If they are, I will present a case to the grand jury. If they're not, then we won't do it."