World enews: Trump special counsel subpoenas Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger

WASHINGTON — Jack Smith, the special counsel appointed to investigate former President Donald Trump at the Department of Justice, has issued a subpoena to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.

Raffensperger received a subpoena dated Dec. 9 from Smith, a spokesman for the GOP elections official’s office said Monday. His office had no further comment. The subpoena was first reported Monday by The Washington Post.

The subpoena, which Raffensperger’s office received Monday, asked him to provide documents and is not a request for him to appear or testify in person, according to a source familiar with the subpoena. The secretary of state’s lawyers are currently “weighing options” regarding a timeline for a response, the source said.

This could be a key part of the investigation that’s focused on the Jan. 6 insurrection. Trump called Raffensperger on Jan. 2, 2021, and begged the Georgia official “find” the votes to reverse President Joe Biden’s victory.

During the phone call, Trump told Raffensperger: “All I want to do is this. I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have. Because we won the state.”

Georgia reaffirmed Biden’s victory several times after the Nov. 2020 election.

Smith has also sent subpoenas to local officials in key presidential swing states for any and all communications involving Trump, his campaign and a series of aides and allies who assisted in his effort to overturn the 2020 election.

Subpoenas were issued to top elections officials in Wayne County, Michigan; Milwaukee and Dane counties, Wisconsin; Maricopa County, Arizona; and Allegheny County, Pa. Those counties are home to Detroit, Milwaukee, Madison, Phoenix and Pittsburgh.

Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Smith as special counsel in November to investigate Trump’s handling of classified documents found at his Mar-a-Lago home and “key aspects” of the investigation into his role in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

Rebecca Shabad is a politics reporter for NBC News based in Washington.