If the search of his residence by the FBI and the public hearings on the assault on the Capitol have intensified the pressure on Donald Trump, it is the investigation in the American state of Georgia that could bring about his downfall, experts judge.
But the 76-year-old Republican had asked Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find” 12,000 ballots in his favor to overturn the outcome of the ballot in a phone call made public. In a note published in October 2021, lawyers from the Brookings Institution think tank believed that there was “a significant risk of prosecution” for the billionaire in this key state. Fani Willis, prosecutor for Fulton County, Georgia, which includes Atlanta, instructed a grand jury in May to determine whether there was enough evidence to prosecute Donald Trump.
“Legal risk”
At the end of this long investigation, the ex-president could be charged with charges related to electoral fraud and interference, according to legal experts. Mr. Trump, who denies any wrongdoing, could also be prosecuted under a law usually used to bring down members of the mafia.
Fani Willis has already managed to collect testimonies from personalities from the close circle of the former real estate magnate, in particular from his ex-personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, who is himself the subject of a criminal investigation. A judge has also demanded that Republican Governor of Georgia Brian Kemp, lambasted by Donald Trump for having certified Joe Biden’s victory in the presidential election, testify in turn after the November 2022 legislative elections.
Brad Raffensperger and Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr, who was also the subject of pressure from the ex-president, have already been heard by the grand jury. Donald Trump’s former chief of staff, Mark Meadows, is himself in the crosshairs of justice, as is Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a close ally of the former president, accused of having suggested not to take into account counts mail-in ballots in Georgia, which he denies.
“The fact that Fani Willis is seeking testimony from others close to Donald Trump, including Mark Meadows, shows the seriousness of this investigation, and how worried Trump should be about the risk of prosecution,” tweeted Noah Bookbinder, chairman of the group. anti-corruption Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.
A list of prominent witnesses does not guarantee that the prosecution will have a solid foundation, however, nuance Kevin O’Brien, lawyer and former federal prosecutor in New York.
“The Biggest Threat”
State attorneys generally have less expertise in such cases than the Justice Department and may opt for “a wait-and-see approach,” O’Brien said. “So far, Donald Trump has managed to evade all responsibility for his actions, whether in Georgia or elsewhere,” he adds.
But for some specialists, the investigation in Georgia is different from that of the Ministry of Justice and would have a better chance of leading to an indictment. For David French, a conservative political analyst, Georgia is the main risk of legal proceedings for the former president.