Grand jurors in Ga. inquiry allege perjury
ATLANTA — A special grand jury investigating efforts by then-president Donald Trump and his allies to overturn his 2020 election loss in Georgia said it believes “one or more witnesses” committed perjury and urged local prosecutors to bring charges.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis should “seek appropriate indictments for such crimes where the evidence is compelling,” according to portions of the special grand jury’s final report that were released on Thursday.
Those sections are silent on key details, including who the panel believes committed perjury and what other charges should be pursued. But it marks the first time the grand jurors’ recommendations for criminal charges tied to the case have been made public. And it’s a reminder of the legal challenges facing the former president as he ramps up his third White House bid amid multiple legal investigations.
Trump is also under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice for holding classified documents at his Florida estate.
The former president never testified before the special grand jury, meaning he is not among those who could have perjured themselves. But the report doesn’t foreclose the possibility of other charges, and the case still poses particular challenges for Trump, in part because his actions in Georgia were so public.
While there were relatively few details in Thursday’s release, it does provide some insight into the panel’s process.
Based on witnesses called to testify before the special grand jury, it is clear that Willis is focusing on several areas. Those include:
■ Phone calls by Trump and others to Georgia officials in the wake of the 2020 election.
■ A group of 16 Georgia Republicans who signed a certificate in December 2020 falsely stating that Trump had won the state and that they were the state’s “duly elected and qualified” electors.
■ False allegations of election fraud made during meetings of state legislators at the Georgia Capitol in December 2020.
■ The copying of data and software from election equipment in rural Coffee County by a computer forensics team hired by Trump allies.
■ Alleged attempts to pressure Fulton County elections worker
Ruby Freeman into falsely confessing to election fraud.
■ The abrupt resignation of the U.S. attorney in Atlanta in January 2021.