First on CNN: Georgia district attorney investigating Trump has subpoenaed officials from secretary of state’s office

By Sara Murray and Jason Morris, CNN

An Atlanta-area district attorney investigating Donald Trump‘s efforts to overturn the 2020 election results has subpoenaed half a dozen officials from the Georgia secretary of state’s office, according to copies of the documents obtained by CNN.

The flurry of activity comes as a special grand jury is set to begin its work of investigating the former President and his allies on June 1. A person familiar with the investigation said secretary of state officials are not alone in receiving subpoenas in recent weeks, as the Fulton County district attorney’s office has ramped up its investigative activity.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis subpoenaed Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, Interim Deputy Secretary of State Gabe Sterling, General Counsel Ryan Germany, former Elections Director Chris Harvey, Legislative Liaison Victoria Thompson and former Chief Investigator Frances Watson, according to copies of the documents.

The subpoenas call for the witnesses to testify on dates from early to mid-June. Raffensperger, who has previously said he would comply with a subpoena, appears slated to be one of the first witnesses to testify on June 2. His call with Trump — in which the former President pressured Raffensperger to “find” the votes needed for Trump to win Georgia — lies at the heart of the Georgia probe.

Sterling, Raffensperger’s deputy, also has said he would comply with his subpoena. Several staffers in the office have already had voluntary conversations with Fulton County investigators and handed over relevant documents and recordings.

Willis, meantime, has said she’s not limiting her investigation to Trump’s infamous call with Raffensperger. She has cast a wide net — looking at Georgia’s fake electors, former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani’s conspiracy-ridden presentation to state lawmakers and other issues — as she tries to determine whether Trump and his allies engaged in a broad criminal conspiracy to try to swing the Peach State to Trump’s column.

Ultimately the Trump team’s efforts were unsuccessful: Joe Biden carried the state by nearly 12,000 votes in 2020, a tally that was confirmed by three counts of ballots.

Fulton County investigators traveled to Washington, DC, earlier this month to meet with staffers for the House select committee investigating the January 6, 2021, insurrection to go over information that may be relevant to the Georgia probe, according to the person familiar with the investigation. A spokesperson for the committee declined to comment.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution also reported that one of its political reporters who covered the 2020 election, Greg Bluestein, has been told he should expect to receive a subpoena.

The newspaper’s managing editor, Shawn McIntosh, has said they would try to have any subpoena for Bluestein dismissed. She did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment.

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CNN’s Ryan Nobles contributed to this report.