Fulton County DA says Georgia's probe of Trump could lead to prison sentences

• Fulton County DA Fani Willis appears to be ramping up her Georgia probe of Trump.
• Willis told the Washington Post that her team has heard allegations of 'serious crimes."
• Willis is investigating if Trump and his associates attempted to interfere in the state's 2020 elections.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis's probe into former President Donald Trump and his advisers appears to be ramping up after she said her team has heard allegations of "serious crimes" and believes that it will result in some individuals being put behind bars, The Washington Post reported.

In an interview with the Washington Post, Willis said, "the allegations are very serious. If indicted and convicted, people are facing prison sentences."

Willis is leading a wide-ranging criminal investigation into Trump and his associates' efforts to interfere with the state's 2020 election results. The Fulton County district attorney has not announced any formal charges, but she has hinted that a decision could be made as soon as this fall. 

At least 17 people have been informed that they are targets of the Georgia investigation, the Post reported. They include former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, a personal attorney to Trump who testified in August before the special grand jury as part of the investigation.

Willis said a decision could be made late this fall on whether her team will seek testimony from Trump as part of her probe. During a radio interview with Hugh Hewitt on Thursday, the former president said he has not received any target letters in the ongoing investigations he is involved in.

When the Fulton County district attorney formally launched her investigation into Trump in February 2021, she said it would focus on the former president's attempt to pressure Georgia state officials to overturn the state's 2020 election results; Trump created a firestorm two days before the insurrection when it became public that he'd asked Georgia's secretary of state to "find" enough to swing the state for him despite losing it.

Since announcing her investigation, it has expanded to include examining an alleged scheme to send a fake slate of electors to the Georgia State Capitol in an attempt to overturn the state's election results.

Willis's investigation appears to be heating up. In July, the special grand jury issued several subpoenas to Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Trump's legal advisers, including John Eastman, Kenneth Chesebro, Cleta Mitchell, and Jenna Ellis — who all helped advise the former president on legal strategies to overturn the 2020 presidential election results. 

Willis has assembled a team of former police officers, veteran prosecutors, and criminal defense attorneys to assist in her investigation. She did not respond to Insider's request to comment.