Georgia prosecutor says presidential immunity won’t protect Trump

by Cameron Jenkins - 02/08/22 7:32 AM ET

A Georgia prosecutor investigating former President Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election said in a new interview that presidential immunity will not protect him from being prosecuted in the state.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis (D) told CNN that the argument Trump’s lawyers have made in the past concerning presidential immunity would not stand up in court.

“Of course, I’ve given thought to if that may be raised as a legal issue,” Willis said. “I don’t think that that protection will prevent a prosecution if that becomes necessary in this state case.”

Last year, Willis began investigating whether Trump or his allies committed any crimes as they attempted to persuade Georgia officials to look for voter fraud in order to secure the former president a victory in the state. The investigation was prompted by a call Trump had with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) encouraging him to look for votes that would overturn the election, CNN noted.

“You and I have listened to that phone call. But also I have the benefit of also having talked to a lot of witnesses and probably having read more on this than most people would like to,” Willis told the network.

She also said that she is not concerned about Trump attempting to delay her investigation, adding that she will “use the power of the law” if necessary once grand jury proceedings begin in the spring.

“This is a criminal investigation. We’re not here playing a game,” Willis told CNN. “I plan to use the power of the law. We are all citizens.”

“Mr. Trump, just as every other American citizen, is entitled to dignity. He’s entitled to be treated fairly. He will be treated fairly in this jurisdiction,” she added. “But I plan to do my job, and my job is to make sure that we get the evidence that gives us the truth. I’m not concerned at all about games to delay this.”

Last month, Fulton County Superior Court judges approved Willis’s request for a special grand jury to investigate Trump’s actions in office. She also reportedly has plans to begin issuing subpoenas in May.

“The special-purpose grand jury not only has the power to subpoena witnesses to come to testify, but also other evidence that may be relevant, whether that’s emails, letters, phone calls, whatever you could imagine,” she told CNN.

“When I sit down, I will have done everything that I know how to do to bring a fair and true picture. And so they’re welcome to their opinions,” Willis later added, speaking of her critics who argue she should speed up or narrow her probe. “But while I sit here as the elected DA, we’re going to do things so that the American public can be confident we did everything we knew how to do to bring justice.”

Tags Donald Trump Donald Trump Presidential immunity

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