GEORGIA LAUNCHES QUIZ ON TRUMP’S ELECTION PHONE CALL

Georgia’s Secretary of State’s office opened a probe into former US President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the state’s 2020 election results, a step that could lead to a criminal investigation by state and local authorities.

Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger had faced calls to open a probe after Trump was recorded in a Jan. 2 phone call pressuring Raffensperger to overturn the state’s election results based on unfounded voter fraud claims, Linda So reported for Reuters.

“The Secretary of State’s office investigates complaints it receives,” said Walter Jones, a spokesman for Raffensperger’s office, describing the investigation as “fact finding and administrative.”

“Any further legal efforts will be left to the attorney general,” he added.

Jones stressed the probe, which was first reported by Reuters, was prompted by a complaint filed on Monday by George Washington University law professor John Banzhaf.

The professor told Reuters he spoke with an investigator in Raffensperger’s office on Monday, hours after he filed the complaint requesting a probe into Trump’s potential election interference. It was his fourth such complaint to Georgia officials since the Jan. 2 call, he said.

Jason Miller, a Trump adviser, said, “There was nothing improper or untoward about a scheduled call between President Trump, Secretary Raffensperger and lawyers on both sides. If Mr. Raffensperger didn’t want to receive calls about the election, he shouldn’t have run for Secretary of State.”

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