Georgia prosecutor seeks testimony from ex-Trump aides in election probe

[August 26, 2022]  WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A Georgia prosecutor investigating former President Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 U.S. presidential election is seeking to compel testimony from his former chief of staff, Mark Meadows, and other close allies, court filings released on Thursday showed.

White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows speaks to reporters following a television interview, outside the White House in Washington, U.S. October 21, 2020. REUTERS/Al Drago

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis on Thursday asked a state judge to order Meadows to appear before a special grand jury next month to answer questions about Trump's attempts to reverse his loss in Georgia, a battleground state that helped propel Democrat Joe Biden to the presidency.

The prosecutor is also seeking testimony from other Trump allies, including lawyer Sidney Powell, retired Army colonel James "Phil" Waldron and former Trump campaign adviser Boris Epshteyn.

The probe, one of several civil and criminal investigations threatening Trump and his associates, began soon after a January 2021 phone call that was recorded in which Trump urged Georgia's top election official to "find" enough votes to alter the outcome.

The investigation has ensnared a number of other Trump allies, most notably his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, who was informed earlier this month that he is a target of the probe. Giuliani testified before the grand jury last week.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh, Rami Ayyub and Joseph Ax; Editing by Leslie Adler and Deepa Babington)

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