Ga. Gov. Kemp Says He's Been Interviewed by Special Counsel

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, who refused former President Donald Trump's request to investigate fraud in the 2020 election in his state, said he was interviewed by members of special counsel Jack Smith's team.

"I basically told them the same thing I told the special grand juries: that I follow the law and the Constitution and answered all their questions truthfully," Kemp told CNN's "The Source" on Tuesday.

Kemp said the interview occurred "months ago" and "really didn't last that long."

A spokesman for Kemp told CNN in July that Smith's office had contacted the governor but it was not previously known that he met with the special counsel's team.

Smith has since brought federal charges against Trump, accusing the former president of hatching a plan with six unindicted co-conspirators to subvert the 2020 election results in the days leading up to Jan. 6, 2021.

Kemp also testified before a special grand jury in Fulton County, Georgia, in 2022 in a separate investigation by state prosecutors into Trump and his supporters' alleged election interference efforts.

Trump, the likely 2024 GOP presidential nominee, pleaded not guilty in both cases and denied any wrongdoing.

Asked about Trump's claims of presidential immunity for actions taken during his time in office, Kemp said, "I don't think anybody's above the law, Democrat or Republican, independent, myself, or anybody else."

Trump asked the Supreme Court to temporarily pause a federal appeals court decision that rejected his claim of presidential immunity from prosecution for conduct while in office.  

In the Georgia election interference case, Trump and his co-defendants asked Judge Scott McAfee to disqualify Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from the case, citing a conflict of interest.

Pointing to the fact that he was a witness in the state grand jury probe, Kemp sidestepped a question about whether Willis should be removed, saying he didn't "want to speak too much" on the subject.

The embattled district attorney has been accused by Trump and his co-defendants of engaging in an improper romantic relationship with Nathan Wade, the special prosecutor she appointed to the case, and of benefiting financially from the relationship.

Willis and Wade testified under oath about their affair last week. Willis forcefully pushed back against what she called "lies" about the relationship. Wade tried to downplay the matter and portrayed himself and Willis as private people.

"We've had a political process there that, believe it or not, has gotten more political and we certainly saw that last week," Kemp told CNN.

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