Donald Trump Faces Biggest Risk of Criminal Charge in Georgia: Experts

Donald Trump is at the greatest risk of facing criminal charges as a special grand jury in Georgia begins hearing testimony from dozens of subpoenaed witnesses about his attempts to overturn the 2020 election results in the state, experts have said.

Prosecutors, led by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, have been examining whether the former president’s infamous phone call to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find” 11,780 votes to tilt the results in Trump’s favor amounted to a criminal offense.

As part of the long-running investigation, a special grand jury will now start hearing testimony from around 50 subpoenaed witnesses from Wednesday, June 1. The jury will then hand over a report to Willis, who will decide whether to indict Trump and his allies with a criminal offense.

Clark D. Cunningham, a professor of law at Georgia State University, said that while Trump faces other legal and civil investigations, the one in Georgia is “potentially the most significant” of them all.

“The phone call to Raffensperger certainly seems like the clearest evidence we have of criminal wrongdoing by Trump,” Cunningham told Newsweek.

“It’s a recording, he acknowledges that it’s him, it’s his voice. There’s no question of authenticity,” Cunningham added. “It seems to me that it’s very clear evidence of a violation of Georgia law called the criminal solicitation of election fraud.”

Josh Ritter, a former Los Angeles County prosecutor and criminal defense attorney, also said the Fulton County probe is the “closest to a criminal indictment that we’ve seen for the former president” so far.

“It’s pretty historically significant, especially given the fact that it’s a state investigation rather than a federal investigation,” Ritter told Newsweek.

Trump has frequently dismissed suggestions that his phone call with Raffensperger amounted to a crime, insisting it was a “perfect” call. The former president—who has repeatedly alleged, without evidence, that the 2020 election was rigged—also maintains that the Georgia investigation is a political “witch hunt” against him.

Newsweek has contacted Trump’s office for comment.

This is not the first time that Trump has risked becoming the first current or former president to be charged with a crime.

The Department of Justice could yet charge him in connection with allegations he incited his supporters to attack the Capitol on January 6 to stop the certification of the electoral votes in favor of Joe Biden. The House Select Committee investigating the insurrection is due to submit its recommendations and evidence to the agency.

Trump also remains under investigation for alleged tax fraud by the Trump Organization despite reports Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg was bringing the inquiry to a halt.

In March, a damning resignation letter from prosecutor Mark Pomerantz was made public stating the D.A.’s office was in “no doubt” that Trump had…