English
Estonian
Latvian
Lithuanian
Polish
Romanian
Russian
Ukrainian
The special purpose grand jury tasked with investigating efforts by former President Donald Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 election in Georgia has found that perjury “may have been committed by one or more witnesses testifying before it.”
“The grand jury recommends that the District Attorney seek appropriate indictments for such crimes where the evidence is compelling,” the report says, portions of which were released Thursday.
The jurors also found “no widespread fraud” that would have altered the results of the election in favor of President Biden, who carried the state by less than 12,000 votes.
The sections that Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney made public do not identify the witnesses who may have lied in their sworn testimony, nor do they include the final conclusions or recommendations the panel made to Fulton County District Attorney Fani T. Willis.
Ms. Willis, a Democrat, will decide whether or not to pursue criminal charges, including against Mr. Trump.
As a result, the special grand jury report, and the potential for charges, have cast a legal cloud over Mr. Trump’s 2024 presidential bid.
On Thursday, some legal analysts speculated the withholding of the special grand jury’s final recommendations suggests a witness or witnesses likely will face charges.
“It’s impossible to imagine that among those being indicted will not be Donald Trump,” Jeff Robbins, an attorney specializing in First Amendment rights and a former assistant U.S. attorney, told ABC News.
For his part, Mr. Trump has denied any wrongdoing and has said he is confident he will not get indicted.
“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 spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement.
The perjury-related concerns were included in the three sections of the special grand jury report that Judge McBurney ordered this week to be released to the public over the objections of prosecutors.
The sections made public are the reports’ introduction and conclusion, as well as a section in which members of the grand jury raise concerns some of the unnamed witnesses had lied under oath.
But it did not include the special grand jury’s final recommendations that will guide the decision-making of Ms. Willis, who is a Democrat.
Judge McBurney ruled the conclusions and recommendations should not be made public until Ms. Willis decides whether to seek charges.
The special purpose grand jury cannot issue indictments.
The partial release of the report pulled back the curtain on parts of a two-year investigation into efforts by Mr. Trump and his allies to overturn his loss.
The special grand jury received evidence from 75 witnesses, most of whom testified under oath, the report said. It also cast doubt on Mr. Trump’s stolen election claims.
“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 introduction to the report reads. “We find by unanimous vote that no widespread fraud took place in the Georgia 2020 presidential election that could result in overturning the election.”
The special grand jury investigated matters including an infamous phone call on Jan. 2, 2021, between Mr. Trump and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in which Mr. Trump asked the state official to “find” enough votes for him to be declared the winner.
The Trump campaign defended the former president’s actions.
“The president participated in two perfect phone calls engaging 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,” Mr. Cheung said.
The panel also probed the appointment of 16 “alternate” Republican electors for Mr. Trump and efforts to pressure a Fulton County poll worker to falsely claim she committed election fraud.
Among the witnesses who appeared before the special grand jury was former New York City Rudy Giuliani in his capacity as Mr. Trump’s attorney, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, as well as Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and Mr. Raffensperger, both Republicans.
Ms. Willis fought for the special grand jury report to remain secret out of concern it could hamper a possible case if charges are filed.
Media organizations, meanwhile, fought to make the entire report public.
Judge McBurney said he was not releasing the full report to the public because there was “very limited due process” for people for whom the grand jurors recommended charges.
