Georgia prosecutors investigating whether former President Donald Trump meddled in the state’s 2020 election said Tuesday that 16 Republicans who participated in a fraudulent election scheme are the targets of their investigation. But 11 of the 16 voters claim prosecutors told them they were the witnesses — not the subjects — of the investigation and agreed to give voluntary interviews to investigators, according to a motion they filed Tuesday. According to their court records, they said at least two of them appeared for interviews in late April. Voters said they were first told on June 28 that they were considered targets, not witnesses, because of “new evidence” that came to light, according to the motion. Court documents filed Tuesday by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis said each of the bogus voters was given a “target” letter notifying them that they have been subpoenaed by a grand jury and are the subjects of an investigation. “It is worth noting that Georgia law does not require either the prosecutor or the grand jury to notify witnesses of their status as a potential target prior to their testimony,” Willis’ court filing said. Georgia’s Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is pictured in her office in Atlanta, Jan. 4, 2022. A British filmmaker who interviewed Donald Trump and his inner circle in the final months of the former president’s administration has been asked to testify in an investigation of Georgia, by Willis, over whether Trump and others illegally tried to influence the state’s 2020 election. AP Photo/Ben Gray, File Willis had launched a criminal investigation last year to investigate “attempts to influence the administration of the 2020 Georgia General Election” and requested the convening of a special grand jury in May. The 16 electors are being investigated because they signed a certificate declaring Trump the winner of the election, even though President Joe Biden won, according to Willis’ court filing Tuesday. They tried to circumvent Biden’s victory by submitting the certificate to the National Archives and identifying themselves as “duly elected and qualified electors” for Georgia, even though the Republican party had been defeated there, the filings say. Willis said in her deposition that she is considering possible voter racketeering and conspiracy charges. Her investigation has also subpoenaed close Trump allies, including Rudy Giuliani’s lawyer, Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and legal counsel John Eastman.
