Partial grand jury report released in Georgia probe into 2020 election fraud

(Kent D. Johnson/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP, Pool)

“Perjury may have been committed” is the conclusion the Georgia grand jury came to in the investigation into election fraud in the 2020 presidential election. Some members of the special grand jury think some witnesses were not truthful in their testimony.

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A Georgia judge released parts of the grand jury’s report on the investigation into Trump’s efforts, and those of his allies, to overturn his 2020 election loss in Georgia. The grand jury’s recommendations on potential charges remain secret. Fulton County D.A. Fani T. Willis argued that the entire report should remain secret because of the potential for charges to be brought forth. She said her decision on that was “imminent.” She didn’t define imminent, though, so it could be next week or months from now. Maybe she wants to stretch the process out long enough to mess with the 2024 presidential election if Trump gets the GOP nomination. Three years after the election, this story is still ongoing.

I’ve been following this story because Georgia has become a purplish state and Democrats are determined to keep their victories coming. Fulton County (Atlanta) is a Democrat stronghold in Georgia. D.A. Willis requested the grand jury and it was greenlit by the Fulton Superior Court a year ago. The grand jury was instructed to “investigate any facts and circumstances relating directly or indirectly to alleged violations of the laws of the State of Georgia.” They had the power to subpoena evidence but not to issue indictments. The grand jury was approved a year ago. After an eight-month investigation, the grand jury was dissolved. Fulton Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney issued an order stating that the grand jury fulfilled its duties to his satisfaction. The majority of the Superior Court judges agreed.

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The grand jury members were in favor of releasing the full report.

So, it looks like the judge decided to take the middle ground and release part of the grand jury’s report.

The portion released is described as a five-page excerpt and it discloses that a majority of the grand jury thinks that some witnesses lied under oath during their testimony. They recommend that charges be filed. The identity of witnesses who lied, in their opinion, was not included in the unsealed portion.

“A majority of the grand jury believes that perjury may have been committed by one or more witnesses testifying before it,” the report reads. “The grand jury recommends that the district attorney seek appropriate indictments for such crimes where the evidence is compelling.”

The unsealed document offered no major clues about the grand jury’s other findings — though the panel pointedly noted that it unanimously agreed that Georgia’s 2020 presidential vote had not been marred by “widespread fraud” as has been claimed by Trump and his allies.

The conclusion reached in the report clearly states that no widespread fraud happened in Georgia in 2020.

“The grand jury heard extensive testimony on the subject of alleged election fraud from poll workers, investigators, technical experts, and State of Georgia employees and officials, as well as from persons still claiming that such fraud took place,” the report reads. “We find by a unanimous vote that no widespread fraud took place in the Georgia 2020 presidential election that could result in overturning that election.”

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The list of who should or should not be indicted and the reason for the indictments remain private.

It’s important to remember that a grand jury is a tool for the prosecution, not the defense. There is only one side of an argument presented and no rebuttals are allowed from defense attorneys. A grand jury report is, by nature, a one-sided conclusion. This was never going to come out in Trump’s favor. It will be an aggressive move if D.A. Willis indicts some of the Trump allies who were called to testify, but Willis is in her first term as D.A. and is described as “a pit bull.” It seems she is trying to prove that no person is above the law, including former presidents. If she moves forward against Trump, he would be the first former president indicted.

“She’s a pit bull in the courtroom,” said Vincent Velazquez, a former Atlanta homicide detective who worked with Willis during her time as an assistant district attorney. “You give her an inch, she’s going to take a foot.”

Willis told South Atlanta Magazine in 2021 that she was raised primarily by her father, a criminal defense attorney who was a member of the Black Panther Party, a Black Power movement that began in the 1960s.

She graduated from Howard University, a historically Black college in Washington that Vice President Kamala Harris also attended, and Emory University School of Law in Atlanta before working as a criminal defense and family law attorney in private practice.

Willis worked from 2001 to 2018 in the Fulton County prosecutor’s office, then won the election as a county prosecutor in 2020, defeating her former boss, Paul Howard. She faces re-election next year.

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She’s up for re-election next year. We know what that means, don’t we? Prepare to see indictments issued soon. Stay tuned.

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