Parts of Georgia grand jury report on Trump election reversal bid out Thursday
A Georgia judge has said he will reveal portions of a grand jury report later this week detailing the investigation into former President Donald Trump’s alleged election interference in the Peach State.
The Monday ruling follows a probe by Atlanta’s top prosecutor into whether the 76-year-old Trump and his allies conspired to commit voter fraud after a January 2021 recording revealed the 45th president pressed the state’s top election official to alter the results of the 2020 presidential election.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney wrote that he would keep secret the grand jury’s recommendations for the inquiry that featured testimony from 75 people — including former Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC).
McBurney did note in his eight-page ruling that the grand jury was concerned “that some witnesses may have lied under oath during their testimony.”
The panel submitted its findings in December and “recommended that its report be published,” McBurney wrote, noting that the release was opposed by Fulton County DA Fani Willis, who would ultimately decide whether to press charges.
After a hearing on the merits of releasing the report, the judge agreed to publish two parts of it and withhold the rest of it until prosecutors finish their investigation, which had widened to include potential conspiracy, racketeering, oath of office violations and election-related violence.
The partial release of the grand jury’s report was scheduled for Thursday.
Audio of a Jan. 2, 2021 phone call between Trump and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger revealed the then-president asked the official to “find” votes in the formerly red state captured by President Biden.
“All I want to do is this. I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have,” Trump said. “Because we won the state.”
Trump, who is again running for president, is also under federal investigation for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the US Capitol and for troves of classified documents found in his possession.
