Federal prosecutors building a criminal investigation into former President Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election have asked for all security video from Atlanta's State Farm Arena around polling day, according to a subpoena sent to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger's office.
The letter from special counsel Jack Smith and his investigators, dated May 31, 2023, asked the Georgia secretary of state's office for "any and all security video or security footage, or any other video of any kind, depicting or taken at or near the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, on or about November 3, 2020, and any associated data."
Former President Donald Trump and his campaign targeted Fulton County election workers who were stationed at the arena by baselessly claiming they were counting fake mail-in ballots.
The FBI and Georgia Bureau of Investigation looked into claims of voter fraud at the arena, which was billed as Georgia's largest-ever voting precinct, and concluded that "there was no evidence of any type of fraud as alleged." The Georgia State Election Board also recently concluded a years-long investigation into alleged misconduct by Fulton County election workers during the 2020 election, finding no evidence of conspiracy.
Smith's office interviewed Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger last month as part of the federal probe into Trump's efforts to subvert the peaceful transition of power. Raffensperger, an elected Republican, repeatedly pushed back on Trump's demands in 2020, as he and his family, in addition to other election workers in the state, faced an onslaught of threats.
Chris Harvey, the former state elections director in Georgia, also met with federal prosecutors last month, according to a source familiar with the matter. Harvey left his job at the secretary of state's office about six months after the 2020 election.
Trump on Tuesday said in a social media post he's been informed by special counsel Jack Smith that he is a target of the criminal investigation into the election aftermath, a sign he may soon be charged by the special counsel.
Separately, a grand jury in Fulton County is expected to consider state charges against Trump and his Republican allies for trying to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, an elected Democrat, launched the investigation in early 2021, and has indicated that final charging decisions could come next month.
