“At least one of the witnesses” questioned as part of the investigation into pressure on Donald Trump and his supporters in Georgia after the 2020 presidential election is suspected of lying, according to a court document released Thursday.
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The judiciary in this southern state has released brief excerpts from the report, prepared by a special grand jury, a panel of citizens with broad investigative powers, after a seven-month investigation.
However, the long-awaited document has been cleaned of any sensitive or nominative information, especially the recommendations for indictments made by this body.
“A majority of the Special Grand Jury believes that at least one of the witnesses questioned may have committed perjury during his hearing” and recommends prosecution, we read there without detail.
According to US media, more than 70 people were heard by the special jury, including Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, but not the ex-president.
Fani Willis, the district attorney for Fulton County, which includes the metropolitan city of Atlanta, has had the full version of this report since December. She will base her findings to decide whether or not to indict the Republican billionaire or some of his relatives.
Prosecutors had opened an investigation following a Jan. 2, 2021 phone call in which Donald Trump asked a local official to “find” ballots on his behalf.
“It doesn’t hurt to say you did the math,” he said, according to a recording of the discussion, made without his knowledge and broadcast by multiple media outlets.
“All I want is to find 11,780 ballots,” the Republican added. That number was roughly equal to the lead held by his Democratic rival Joe Biden in Georgia state, as confirmed by a recount and audits.
Fani Willis then widened the scope of his investigation to include a range of pressures being exerted by Donald Trump’s allies in the state, including threats against an election agent or a possible attempt to break into computer systems.
Donald Trump, who continues to claim he was a victim of “electoral fraud,” has denied any wrongdoing. According to him, the January 2, 2021 call was “perfect and very appropriate.”
In the excerpt released on Thursday, the grand jury emphasized that it “reached unanimously that there was no massive fraud in Georgia’s 2020 presidential election.”
Donald Trump is also the target of federal investigations into possible voting violations, his role in the attack on the Capitol, and his management of the White House archives.
He is also being sued by New York courts, albeit in civil courts, over the Trump Organization’s financial practices.