Georgia DA says ‘about 60 percent’ of needed witnesses have testified in election probe

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis on Monday said a Georgia grand jury has heard from about 60 percent of the people she wants to testify in her probe into whether former President Trump and his allies sought to illegally overturn the 2020 presidential election in the state.

“I think we’re about 60 percent through of all of the people that we need to be brought up,” Willis said at a press conference. 

“I’m pleased with the pace that we’re going,” she continued. “You know, there can’t be any predictions.”

Willis began the investigation last year after a January 2021 phone call between Trump and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R). Trump implored Raffensperger, Georgia’s top elections official, to “find” the votes needed to reverse his loss to President Biden.

Willis has subpoenaed high-profile figures like Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R), Rep. Jody Hice (R-Ga.), Rudy Giuliani and other Trump-affiliated lawyers including John Eastman, Jenna Ellis and Cleta Mitchell as part of the probe.

Willis initially subpoenaed Graham in early July about his separate calls with Raffensperger following the 2020 presidential election.

But the South Carolina senator has dismissed the probe as politically motivated and has attempted to avoid testifying, citing the Constitution’s Speech and Debate Clause, which shields congressional members from testifying about matters related to their work in Congress.

Earlier on Monday, Willis’s office filed a motion asking a judge to deny Graham’s request to quash a subpoena as the legality of his appearance remains tied up in the courts.

“Many people are unsuccessfully fighting our subpoenas,” Willis said at the press conference. “We will continue to fight to make sure that the grand jury and the public gets the truth.” 

Giuliani, who was told he was a target of the probe, appeared before the grand jury earlier this month after his lawyers attempted to delay his testimony. 

A judge on Monday denied an attempt by Kemp, the state’s governor, to quash his subpoena, but the judge did delay his testimony until after the November midterm elections.

“I am very hopeful that by the end of this year I’ll be able to send the grand jury on their way,” Willis said.