Former Watergate prosecutor: Trump has "zero" defense in Georgia probe
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Former President Trump gives the keynote address at the Faith & Freedom Coalition on June 17 in Nashville, Tennessee. Photo: Seth Herald/Getty Images
Former President Trump's taped phone call pressing Georgia's Republican secretary of state in January 2021 to "find 11,780 votes" should be enough" to indict him, a former Watergate prosecutor told MSNBC on Sunday.
Why it matters: Officials in Georgia are investigating allegations that Trump attempted to interfere with the outcome of the 2020 presidential election in the state.
- While Trump has dismissed both the Fulton County investigation and the Jan. 6 committee hearings as "witch-hunts," former Watergate prosecutor Nick Akerman told MSNBC's "The Katie Phang Show" that of all the cases against Trump it's the Georgia one that could "send Donald Trump to prison."
Between the lines: Trump's "only defense" of his call to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger was "to somehow pick up on some ambiguity in the tape, that he did not really mean what he said," Akerman told host Katie Phang.
Yes, but: "Once you look at what he said, trying to get Brad Raffensperger to come up with extra votes to make him a winner in Georgia, and put in the context about the January 6th committee has found, I think they have gotten a case beyond a reasonable doubt," Akerman said
The bottom line: "What is significant with those tapes is that when you put it in context of all of the evidence that the January 6 committee has uncovered — you put that together, Donald Trump has zero defense in Georgia," Akerman said.
The other side: Trump, who's attacked Raffensperger since leaving office over his voter integrity conduct, said in a post on his platform Truth Social Sunday: "My phone call to the Georgia Secretary of State, with many other people, including numerous lawyers, knowingly on the line, was absolutely PERFECT and appropriate."
Go deeper: Georgia prosecutor requests help from FBI after "alarming" Trump comments
