Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger will be interviewed later this week for the first time by the Department of Justice, The Washington Post reports.
The interview is part of special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation of allegations that former President Donald Trump tried to interfere with the 2020 election.
Raffensperger is heard in an audio recording of an infamous phone call with Donald Trump in the aftermath of the 2020 election in which the former president is heard asking the state’s top elections official if he could find him more votes to overturn Joe Biden’s election victory.
His interview with the DOJ was delayed several times at the request of special counsel Jack Smith’s office.
Raffensperger has previously spoken with the House committee investigating Jan. 6 and Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who is also investigating allegations Trump tried to interfere in the state’s 2020 elections.
Smith earlier this month charged Trump with 37 counts in a separate investigation over allegations the former president mishandled classified documents.
During the phone conversation, Trump grows irate when Raffensperger tells the former president what he apparently didn’t want to hear.
“We believe that we do have an accurate election,” he tells the former president during the call.
“No, no, you don’t. No, no, you don’t. You don’t have, you don’t have. Not even close. You’re off by hundreds of thousands of votes,” Trump famously replies.
“…because, you know what they did and you’re not reporting it. That’s a criminal — that’s a criminal offense. And you can’t let that happen. That’s a big risk to you and to Ryan, your lawyer. And that’s a big risk. But they are shredding ballots, in my opinion, based on what I’ve heard. And they are removing machinery and they’re moving it as fast as they can, both of which are criminal finds. And you can’t let it happen and you are letting it happen. You know, I mean, I’m notifying you that you’re letting it happen. So look. All I want to do is this. I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have …”
