Georgia Governor Brian Kemp has been contacted by the Justice Department’s special counsel in the 2020 election investigation

Washington
CNN
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Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith’s team contacted Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, a Kemp official told CNN, to pressure former President Donald Trump to cancel the 2020 election.

“I can confirm that our office has been contacted by Jack Smith’s office, but we will decline to comment further at this time,” Andrew Isenhour, a spokesman for the Republican governor, said in a statement.

Smith’s team contacted Kemp’s office this week, according to a person familiar with the outreach.

The Washington Post first reported Smith reaching out to Kemp.

Trump pushed Kemp to reverse 2020 presidential election results After he lost the state in Georgia to Democrat Joe Biden. After Kemp declined, Trump sought to sink the governor’s re-election efforts by appointing a challenger in the 2022 GOP gubernatorial primary. Kemp was re-elected despite Trump’s efforts.

“He was mad at me. I wasn’t mad at him. I followed the law and the constitution by telling him exactly what I could and couldn’t do when it came to the election. Like I said before, it’s much bigger than Donald Trump. It’s much bigger than me. It’s much bigger than the Republican Party,” Kemp told CNN earlier this week.

Smith’s investigators have recently contacted Ex Arizona Governor Doug DuceyTrump pushed for a nullification election after losing the state in 2020 as well.

Federal investigators are focusing on efforts by Trump and his top lawyers to induce then-Vice President Mike Pence to submit bogus voters to Congress on his behalf and block the certification of election results.

Trump received a Target letter at Smith’s trial last Sunday, and his team is now preparing to file a charge sheet in the case.

The targeted letter cited three laws accusing Trump of: disenfranchisement; conspiracy to commit a crime or commit fraud against the United States; and tampering with a witness, according to multiple news outlets, including The Wall Street Journal, which cited a person familiar with the matter.

On January 6, a Justice Department investigation is known to be investigating violations related to conspiracy and obstruction of Congress, which are part of the witness tampering law, CNN previously reported, following a judicial search of a Trump administration adviser’s home.

This story has been updated with additional information.