Witnesses in Trump election meddling probe may have lied under oath - court document

Witnesses in Trump election meddling
probe may have lied under oath - court
document

Several witnesses may have lied under oath during a grand jury probe of former President Donald Trump's efforts to overturn his 2020 election defeat in Georgia, according to excerpts from the panel's findings released on Thursday.

The special grand jury also concluded that there was no widespread fraud in the election, despite Trump's false claims that the vote was rigged against him, and delivered recommendations to prosecutors on possible indictments for election interference, the document showed.Those recommendations - along with the bulk of the report - will remain sealed for now, pursuant to a judge's order.

The probe followed Trump's January 2021 phone call to a state official asking him to "find" more votes to overturn Democratic President Joe Biden's election victory. Trump's false claims of fraud also motivated the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol.

Trump, who is seeking the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, was not subpoenaed as a witness and did not appear before the grand jury, his lawyers have said. He has not been charged with any crime.Among the 75 witnesses who gave sworn testimony were close Trump allies such as lawyer Rudy Giuliani and Republican U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, as well as top Georgia officials including Republican Governor Brian Kemp.

"A majority of the Grand Jury believes that perjury may have been committed by one or more witnesses testifying before it," the report said, adding that prosecutors should consider appropriate charges.

The excerpts released on Thursday - just five pages of the grand jury's report - did not name any specific witnesses or accuse any individuals of crimes.

Graham told Reuters when asked about the report's reference to possible perjury: "I'll leave that up to them to figure it out. I'm confident of what I said."

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney in a Monday order said the report included "a roster of who should (or should not) be indicted." But the judge ruled those details would stay secret for now out of concern that people named have not had an adequate opportunity to defend themselves.

An attorney for Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis opened an investigation shortly after Trump's call to "find" just enough votes to declare the Republican incumbent the winner in the state.

Trump continues to assert falsely that the 2020 election was stolen from him through widespread voting fraud. He has denied wrongdoing and accused Willis, an elected Democrat, of targeting him for political reasons.

The Georgia investigation is one of several threatening Trump, including separate U.S. Justice Department inquiries into his retention of classified materials after leaving office as well as his efforts to invalidate the 2020 election results.

Unlike a regular grand jury, the special grand jury was not empowered to issue indictments, only recommendations, and the decision on whether to press charges ultimately rests with Willis, the district attorney. If she decides prosecution is warranted, she would need to pursue indictments from a traditional grand jury.

Trump called Georgia's top election official, Brad Raffensperger on Jan. 2, 2021, and claimed falsely that the election results were fraudulent. A recording of the call was leaked.

"I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have, because we won the state," said Trump, referring to the margin of 11,779 votes by which Biden won.

Four days later, a mob of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol in a failed bid to stop Congress from certifying Biden's victory.

Willis has also examined a scheme in which a slate of alternate electors falsely asserted that Trump had won Georgia in an unsuccessful effort to award the state's electoral votes to him rather than Biden.