By Special counsel Jack Smith recently asked Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp for information about efforts by President Donald Trump and his allies to overturn the election results in Georgia in 2020, the governor’s spokesman confirmed Friday afternoon.
“Our office has been contacted by Jack Smith’s office, but we will decline to comment further at this time,” said Andrew Isenhour, the spokesman for Kemp (R).
Trump received a target letter last week from Smith’s office, saying he was facing potential criminal charges in the investigation of efforts to block Joe Biden’s 2020 victory.
Kemp’s office has not been known to have prior contact with Smith as part of that investigation. A spokesman for Smith declined to comment.
Smith’s probe of the events leading up to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol and efforts to overturn the election results is broad, The Washington Post has reported. Prosecutors are looking at attempts to substitute illegitimate electors supporting Trump in states won by Biden, as well as whether Trump and his allies knew such efforts were fraudulent, and who profited off them.
Smith recently asked Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) for information about efforts to overturn the election results in his state, Ducey’s spokesman told The Post earlier this week. Ducey was pressured by Trump and Trump advisers to help reverse his close loss in the state — which Ducey declined to do.
Trump also pressured Kemp and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) to help him overturn the results in Georgia after the 2020 election, calling both men, publicly attacking them when they declined to join his effort and sending advisers and emissaries to the state.
Kemp has also been questioned by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis (D) as part of her investigation of efforts to overturn Georgia’s 2020 election results, and she has signaled that she plans to bring indictments in the case next month. Kemp has been publicly critical of the Georgia investigation but has cooperated with it.
The Georgia governor resisted Trump’s entreaties to reverse his loss in the state in 2020 and has rebuked Trump’s continued focus on the last presidential election — though he has largely avoided criticizing Trump by name.
Trump endorsed a primary opponent over Kemp in Georgia last year, but Kemp won by more than 50 points and remains a popular governor, according to polling in the state.
Perry Stein contributed to this report.