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Georgia Grand Jury Suggests at Least 1 Trump Election Probe Witness Committed Perjury

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Georgia Grand Jury Suggests at Least 1 Trump Election Probe Witness Committed Perjury
Fulton County election workers examine ballots while vote counting, at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Ga., on Nov. 5, 2020. (Tami Chappell/AFP via Getty Images)
Samantha Flom
2/17/2023
Updated:
2/17/2023
0:00

A special grand jury in Fulton County, Georgia, believes that “perjury may have been committed” by one or more witnesses in the investigation of whether former President Donald Trump and his allies criminally interfered in the state’s 2020 presidential election.

Noting this in its final report (pdf)—a portion of which was released on Thursday, Feb. 16—the jury recommended that the district attorney “seek appropriate indictments for such crimes where the evidence is compelling.”

The names of the witnesses in question have not been released.

Launched in early 2021, the probe was prompted by the surfacing of a recording of a January 2021 phone call in which Trump suggested Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger could “find” votes to overturn the election results.

According to the grand jury’s report, the jury was selected on May 2, 2022, and heard evidence in the case—which involved 75 witnesses—from June 1 into December. Among those called to testify were Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, Trump attorney John Eastman, Trump attorney and former New York Gov. Rudy Giuliani, and former Trump campaign lawyer Sidney Powell.

In January, the jury wrapped up its investigation, presenting its final report to Judge Robert McBurney.
While media outlets had pushed for the full report’s publication, the judge, citing “due process deficiencies,” ordered (pdf) on Feb. 13 that only the introduction, conclusion, and section noting the jury’s perjury concerns should be published.

“Potential future defendants were not able to present evidence outside the scope of what the District Attorney asked them,” the judge noted in the order. “They could not call their own witnesses who might rebut what other State’s witnesses had said and they had no ability to present mitigating evidence. Put differently, there was very limited due process in this process for those who might now be named as indictment-worthy in the final report.”

Thus, the judge ordered that the names of those witnesses recommended for potential charges remain undisclosed “for now.”

While special grand juries in Georgia can recommend certain actions, they cannot issue indictments. Instead, Fulton County’s Democrat District Attorney Fani Willis will make those decisions, which, on Jan. 24, she advised were “imminent.”

Trump has maintained that his phone call with Raffensperger was “perfect” and did not constitute a crime.

Reiterating that claim Thursday, the former president said, “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.”
The report comes amid Trump’s third bid for the presidency. As of Wednesday, however, he will have competition for the Republican nomination with South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley now in the running.