Georgia judge releases parts of grand jury report on Trump and 2020 election

Portions of the highly anticipated report from a special grand jury in Georgia that investigated Donald Trump’s actions in the state after the 2020 election were released Thursday, revealing two findings of its monthslong probe but leaving many key questions unaddressed.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney ordered the limited release earlier this week, writing in his order that the report’s introduction and conclusion, as well as concerns the grand jury panel had about witnesses lying under oath, will be made public.

Here are some of the key takeaways:

No widespread voter fraud in Georgia: The special grand jury “unanimously” concluded that there wasn’t widespread voter fraud in Georgia in 2020, rejecting Trump’s conspiracy theories after hearing “extensive testimony” from election officials, poll workers and other experts.

The grand jury’s conclusions on the fraud matter is important because it once again establishes that Trump was attempting to overturn the results of a legitimate election. That could factor into charging decisions by state prosecutors, who are weighing whether to indict Trump and his allies with crimes related to 2020.

Potential perjury charges: The special grand jury recommended that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis consider indicting some witnesses for perjury.

The grand jury “received evidence from or involving 75 witnesses during the course of this investigation, the overwhelming majority of which information was delivered in person under oath.” But jurors clearly weren’t satisfied.

Perjury “may have been committed by one or more witnesses testifying before it,” according to portions of the report disclosed Thursday. 

Willis, a Democrat, has not brought any charges in the investigation at this time. 

How the special grand jury operated: The panel — which had 26 members, including three alternates — operated behind closed doors over the past several months and started hearing evidence on June 1, 2022. It heard from 75 witnesses who played a range of roles in the 2020 election in Georgia. That testimony was usually delivered under oath.

The grand jury also reviewed physical and digital evidence, as well as the testimony from investigators and the input of team of assistant district attorneys who outlined for the grand jury the applicable statutes and procedures. Most of the report remains under seal.

“We set forth for the Court our recommendations on indictments and relevant statutes, including their votes by the Grand Jurors,” an excerpt from the report said. “This includes the votes respective to each topic, indicated in a ‘Yea/Nay/Abstain’ format throughout.”

Read more takeaways here.

Donald Trump’s campaign is standing behind the assertion that the former president "did absolutely nothing wrong" following the release of parts of a special grand jury report on its investigation into his actions in Georgia after the 2020 election.

“The long awaited important sections of the Georgia report, which do not even mention President Trump’s name, have nothing to do with the President because President Trump did absolutely nothing wrong,” Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung said in a statement.

“The President participated in two perfect phone calls regarding election integrity in Georgia, which he is entitled to do — in fact, as President, it was President Trump’s Constitutional duty to ensure election safety, security, and integrity,” Cheung added. 

Cheung said other officials and attorneys were on the line during the calls and no one objected, "even slightly protested," to what was being said. 

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis kicked off her investigation in early 2021, soon after a January call became public. Trump pressured Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to "find" the votes necessary for Trump to win the Peach State in the presidential election.  

Jeff DiSantis, the spokesperson for the Fulton County district attorney, declined to comment on the release of excerpts from the special grand jury report. DiSantis declined to provide an update on when Willis might bring potential charges to a regular grand jury. 

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis' sweeping investigation has sought to determine not only whether former President Donald Trump committed crimes, but also whether there was a broader criminal conspiracy playing out in the efforts to overturn Georgia’s 2020 election results.

In document-preservation requests to Georgia officials in February 2021, Willis said she was investigating potential crimes including solicitation of election fraud, making false statements to government bodies, conspiracy, racketeering, violation of oath of office and violence or threats related to election administration.

The Georgia probe was set off by an hour-long January 2021 phone call from Trump to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger asking him to “find” the votes necessary for Trump to win the Peach State.

Over time, the investigation expanded well beyond the Trump phone call to include false claims of election fraud to state lawmakers, the fake elector scheme, efforts by unauthorized individuals to access voting machines in one Georgia county along with threats and harassment against election workers.

Willis also investigated the sudden departure of Byung “BJay” Pak, the former US attorney for the Northern District of Georgia.

Along the way, Willis designated a number of people as targets of her probe, including 16 Georgia Republicans who served as pro-Trump electors in 2020 and Rudy Giuliani, who was working as a lawyer for Trump.

While a special grand jury does not issue indictments, it possesses broader investigative powers than a typical grand jury in the state as well as the power to issue subpoenas for witness testimony, phone, email and other records.

With the special grand jury recommendations on indictments, Willis could then seek them from the other grand juries regularly empaneled in Fulton County.

Willis has previously said she could pursue Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) charges in this case, allowing prosecutors to bring charges against multiple defendants and make the case that Trump and his allies were part of a criminal enterprise. Willis also considered bringing in John Floyd, a lawyer with deep expertise in racketeering cases, to assist her office.

Portions of a highly anticipated report by an Atlanta-area special grand jury on their investigation into former President Donald Trump’s actions in Georgia after the 2020 election were released Thursday.

The report’s introduction and conclusion, as well as concerns the panel had about witnesses lying under oath, was made public.

Read the released portions of the report below:

Parts of the special grand jury report released Thursday shed light on how the panel — which had 26 members, including three alternates – operated behind closed doors over the past several months.

The grand jury began hearing evidence on June 1, 2022, having been empaneled a month earlier, and heard from 75 witnesses who played a range of roles in the 2020 election in Georgia. That testimony was usually delivered under oath.

The grand jury also reviewed physical and digital evidence, as well as the testimony from investigators and the input of team of assistant district attorneys who outlined for the grand jury the applicable statutes and procedures.

Most of the report remains non-public. But the released excerpts hint how it is structured.

“We set forth for the Court our recommendations on indictments and relevant statutes, including their votes by the Grand Jurors,” the excerpt said. “This includes the votes respective to each topic, indicated in a ‘Yea/Nay/Abstain’ format throughout.”

The still-secret report also includes footnotes where the grand jurors had the chance to clarify their votes the various recommendations, according to the public excerpts. In the report conclusion that was made public, the grand jury notes that its members were not legal experts in criminal law or election law.

“The majority of this Grand Jury used their collective best efforts, however, to attend every session, listen to every witness, and attempt to understand the facts as presented and the laws as explained,” the excerpts said.

GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina told CNN that he’s confident in his testimony to the Georgia grand jury in light of the recommendations that some witnesses should be indicted for perjury. 

He told CNN he hasn’t heard from the district attorney after his testimony. He had no reaction to the recommendation.

More on the investigation: The special grand jury, barred from issuing indictments, penned the highly anticipated final report as a culmination of its seven months of work, which included interviewing 75 witnesses from Graham to Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp to former Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani.

Michael Moore, the former US attorney for the Middle District of Georgia, said he expects indictments to follow the partial release of a report from a special grand jury that investigated Donald Trump’s actions after the 2020 election in the state.

A judge in Fulton County, Georgia, made portions of the report public Thursday.

"I don't think there's any question that we're going to see indictments come out of investigation," Moore said on CNN's At this Hour with Kate Bolduan.

"The (District Attorney) wouldn't have had the time and treasure invested into the case, to be at this place," and not have indictments, he continued.

Moore said the question he's most interested to watch is whether or not Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis will pursue perjury charges for some of the witnesses questioned in the case, which he said "may be tougher."

Moore said he's also watching for "how broad the net will be," explaining that Willis faces a decision about whether to indict a few key targets or to be more sweeping in her actions.

Either way, the district attorney will have to be able to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt, and if she gains a conviction, support it on appeal.

"She's weighing those things out at the same time," Moore said.

The former US attorney noted that it seems possible indictments will come "in relatively short order," based on Willis' previous comments.

The special grand jury in Georgia that investigated Donald Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election “unanimously” concluded that there wasn’t widespread voter fraud, rejecting Trump’s conspiracy theories after hearing “extensive testimony” from election officials, poll workers and other experts.

“The Grand Jury heard extensive testimony on the subject of alleged election fraud from poll workers, investigators, technical experts, and State of Georgia employees and officials, as well as from persons still claiming that such fraud took place,” the grand jury said in its final report, which was partially released on Thursday.

The grand jury continued: “We find by a unanimous vote that no widespread fraud took place in the Georgia 2020 presidential election that could result in overturning that election.”

The grand jury’s conclusions on the fraud matter is important because it once again establishes that Trump was attempting to overturn the results of a legitimate election. That could factor into charging decisions by state prosecutors who are weighing whether to indict Trump and his allies with crimes related to 2020.

 

The special grand jury recommended that the Fulton County district attorney consider indicting some witnesses for perjury, according to newly released parts of their final report in Georgia.

The special grand jury wrote that the group believes that perjury "may have been committed by one or more witnesses testifying before it,” according to portions of the report disclosed Thursday morning. "The Grand Jury recommends that the District Attorney seek appropriate indictments for such crimes where the evidence is compelling."

The grand jury report does not name any witnesses along with that recommendation, or provide any other details about the witness testimony the special grand jury heard. 

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has not brought any charges in the investigation at this time.