ATLANTA — Investigators with special counsel Jack Smith's office are set to interview Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger on Wednesday, representatives for the Georgia Republican confirmed to 11Alive.
Raffensperger's appearance, first reported by The Washington Post, is tied to Smith's widening investigation into efforts by former President Donald Trump and his allies to overturn the 2020 election.
Smith subpoenaed Raffensperger in December for documents, but did not request that he appear in person or testify at that time, NBC News reports. The special counsel interview is Raffensperger's first with the Department of Justice.
The Georgia Secretary of State's Office confirmed the in-person interview will be conducted in Atlanta. Raffensperger agreed to the interview following a request from investigators. It's unclear what time it will take place.
The interview is expected to focus on the aftermath of the state's election and Raffensperger's Jan. 2021 phone call with Trump.
In the call days before the Capitol attack, Trump disputed his loss and urged Raffensperger to "find 11,780 votes" to overturn Joe Biden's victory in Georgia.
"It's hard to tell what information he has that we don't already have in the public eye, but it's certainly possible that this could be very crucial information for Jack Smith's investigation," said Anthony Kreis, a professor at Georgia State University's College of Law.
That phone call also launched a separate and ongoing Fulton County investigation into Trump and his allies. Raffensperger, a key witness in the local probe, spoke with the Fulton County special purpose grand jury in June 2022
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis will announce potential indictments between mid-July and the start of September. Letters to Fulton County leaders hint that charging decisions will likely come early to mid-August.
Summonses for the two Fulton County grand juries that could hear the case were sent out between late May and mid-June.
Willis said in an interview with 11Alive Friday that there are no current delays that would prevent her from presenting 2020 election evidence to a grand jury.
"I've told people many times that I'm not going to be rushed," Willis said. "We are doing what is needed for justice which is to do a proper investigation. That investigation is ongoing, but the timeline that I've set out for the American people having an answer is Sept. 1, no later than. ...The American people will have the answer they want by Sept. 1."