Georgia’s special grand jury investigation into Donald Trump’s bid to upend the 2020 presidential election results in the state is featuring the heaviest hitter to date: Republican Gov. Brian Kemp.
Kemp was scheduled to present testimony on Monday to prosecutors to reveal what he knows about the former president’s pressure campaign to try to wrangle a change in Georgia votes after his loss, both Bloomberg and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
Instead of appearing in person, Kemp was to present a “sworn recorded statement” in the investigation launched by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.
The 23-member special grand jury also subpoenaed various documents concerning Trump’s efforts to manipulate the vote from Kemp’s office, including phone logs, text messages and emails.
Kemp, a longtime Trump ally, infuriated the former president, who said the governor refused to alter the results of the fair election and make Trump the winner in Georgia, even though he had lost the state to Democrat Joe Biden.
To punish Kemp, Trump even talked former Sen. David Perdue into taking him on in the GOP gubernatorial primary. Kemp ended up trouncing his key opponent 74% to Perdue’s 22%.
Trump notoriously told Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in a recorded phone call after the election to “find” just enough votes to make him the winner. Trump has repeatedly characterized that phone call on Truth Social as “perfect.” Raffensperger has already testified before the grand jury.
Several observers believe that the developing case against Trump in Georgia may be the most likely to result in serious criminal charges against him that could even send him to prison.
“It looks like Fani Willis is closing in on an indictment for Trump,” Harvard law professor Laurence Tribe told Bloomberg.
Tribe said Willis has a clearer case to prove than does the U.S. Justice Department, which is looking at issues such as obstructing a congressional inquiry, defrauding the government and inciting an insurrection.