WASHINGTON — Portions of the long-awaited Georgia special grand jury report on former President Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election were released Thursday, shedding little new light on the closely watched probe, but raising questions that cannot yet be answered.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney ruled Monday that the public can read three sections of the Fulton County special purpose grand jury’s report on efforts by Trump and his allies to overturn the election, including the introduction, conclusion and a portion in which the jury “discusses its concern that some witnesses may have lied under oath during their testimony to the grand jury.” The rest of the report, including charging recommendations, will be kept under wraps until the district attorney’s investigation concludes.
The witnesses who the grand jury thought were not being honest are not named in the section of the report that was released. The introduction and conclusion give a general impression of the legal jeopardy Trump and his associates might face for recruiting bogus presidential electors after the 2020 election, even after Georgia’s results were certified by the state’s Republican leadership. Trump made multiple phone calls to pressure state officials after the election, including one to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, in which Trump asked him to “find” 11,780 votes.
The Georgia investigation is not the only potential criminal imbroglio facing Trump, but it may be the farthest along.
The full report outlines the nearly seven months of testimony heard by the special grand jury, including from high-profile witnesses such as Trump attorney Rudolph W. Giuliani and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.
The full report for Fulton County District Attorney Fani T. Willis includes “a roster of who should (or should not) be indicted, and for what, in relation to the conduct (and aftermath) of the 2020 general election in Georgia,” McBurney wrote Monday. It is up to Willis to decide whether to seek indictments and pursue any charges recommended by the special grand jury.
Willis pressed McBurney three weeks ago to keep the report sealed in order to protect the ongoing criminal investigation, and told McBurney in that hearing that charging decisions in the case were “imminent.”
A coalition of media organizations have pressed McBurney to release the report, citing transparency and public interest.
