S9 Ep 7: Planting the seeds of truth

The public release of the recording of the Jan. 2, 2021, phone call from then-President Donald Trump to Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger was the impetus for what is now an ongoing special purpose grand jury investigation. Raffensperger and a top aide, Gabe Sterling, sit for an interview and talk about the 2020 presidential election and its aftermath. During the phone call, Raffensperger disagreed with Trump’s assertions that he had won Georgia by hundreds of thousands of votes, not lost the election by 11,779 votes. And even though Trump alternately pleaded, insulted and threatened Raffensperger, the secretary held firm. The episode also examines a surprise ruling by Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney that bars District Attorney Fani Willis and her office from calling lieutenant gubernatorial candidate Burt Jones before the grand jury or considering him to be a target of the investigation. Jones was one of 16 alternative electors who cast votes for Trump during a meeting in the state Capitol. You can download the Breakdown podcast from Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or your favorite podcasting platform. You can also stream it on your computer from ajc.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices