'We must not become numb to this' -Rep. Dean

Prosecutors in Georgia’s biggest county have opened a criminal investigation into Trump’s efforts to influence the state’s 2020 election results, ordering government officials on Wednesday to preserve documents.

News of the investigation in Fulton County came on the second day of Trump's impeachment trial in the Senate, during which Dean described the former president's pressure campaign against Raffensperger, who received death threats after Trump called him "an enemy of the people."

"Senators, we must not become numb to this," said Dean. "Public officials like you and me receive death threats and calls threatening criminal penalties all because Trump wanted to remain in power."

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis sent letters to state officials, including Republicans Raffensperger and Governor Brian Kemp notifying them of the investigation and seeking to preserve "all records potentially related to the administration" of the state’s Nov. 3 election.

"This investigation includes, but is not limited to, potential violations of Georgia law prohibiting the solicitation of election fraud, the making of false statements to state and local government bodies, conspiracy, racketeering, violation of oath of office and any involvement in violence or threats related to the election’s administration," Willis said in the letters, dated Feb. 10 and reviewed by Reuters.

The letters asked state officials to preserve records, including “those that may be evidence of attempts to influence the actions of persons who were administering that election."

The investigation by Willis, a Democrat, is the most serious probe facing Trump in Georgia after he was recorded in a Jan. 2 phone call pressuring Raffensperger to overturn the state's election results based on unfounded voter fraud claims.