Georgia special grand jury "unanimously" found there wasn’t widespread fraud in 2020 election
From CNN's Marshall Cohen
Election workers count Fulton County ballots at State Farm Arena on November 4, 2020 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Jessica McGowan/Getty Images)
The special grand jury in Georgia that investigated Donald Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election “unanimously” concluded that there wasn’t widespread voter fraud, rejecting Trump’s conspiracy theories after hearing “extensive testimony” from election officials, poll workers and other experts.
“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 grand jury said in its final report, which was partially released on Thursday.
The grand jury continued: “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.”
The grand jury’s conclusions on the fraud matter is important because it once again establishes that Trump was attempting to overturn the results of a legitimate election. That could factor into charging decisions by state prosecutors who are weighing whether to indict Trump and his allies with crimes related to 2020.
11:46 a.m. ET, February 16, 2023
Fulton County grand jury recommends district attorney consider perjury charges
From CNN's Katelyn Polantz
The special grand jury recommended that the Fulton County district attorney consider indicting some witnesses for perjury, according to newly released parts of their final report in Georgia.
The special grand jury wrote that the group believes that perjury "may have been committed by one or more witnesses testifying before it,” according to portions of the report disclosed Thursday morning. "The Grand Jury recommends that the District Attorney seek appropriate indictments for such crimes where the evidence is compelling."
The grand jury report does not name any witnesses along with that recommendation, or provide any other details about the witness testimony the special grand jury heard.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has not brought any charges in the investigation at this time.
11:06 a.m. ET, February 16, 2023
JUST IN: Judge releases parts of Georgia grand jury report on Trump and the 2020 election
From CNN's Katelyn Polantz, Sara Murray and Jason Morris
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney instructs potential jurors during proceedings to seat a special purpose grand jury, May 2, 2022, in Atlanta. (Ben Gray/AP/File)
In his order on Monday, Judge Robert C.I. McBurney said that the special grand jury’s introduction and conclusion as well as concerns the panel had about witnesses lying under oath would be made public on Thursday. Some of the information in those sections still may be redacted, the judge noted.
Prosecutors in Georgia have aggressively investigated whether Trump or any of his associates broke the law while trying to overturn his 2020 election defeat in the closely contested state.
More on the investigation: The special grand jury, barred from issuing indictments, penned the highly anticipated final report as a culmination of its seven months of work, which included interviewing 75 witnesses from Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp to former Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani and South Carolina GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham.
No one has been charged in the case yet. It will be up to Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to decide whether to go to another grand jury to pursue indictments now that the special grand jury has presented its findings.
Other findings by the special grand jury are not expected to be made public yet – particularly the parts where the report makes recommendations about potential charges. That’s because some of the people named in those recommendations may not have appeared in grand jury proceedings so far.
11:01 a.m. ET, February 16, 2023
Key things to know about the release of parts of a highly-anticipated Georgia grand jury report
From CNN's Jason Morris, Sara Murray and Devan Cole
In this August 2022 photo, President Donald Trump speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas, Texas. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney ordered the limited release earlier this week, writing in his order that the report’s introduction and conclusion, as well as concerns the panel had about witnesses lying under oath, will made be public on Thursday.
Will it shed light on possible Trump crimes? The big question is whether the portions will include any bits of information that shed new light on what Trump himself did two years ago and whether the special grand jury concluded that the former president committed any crimes.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ sweeping investigation has sought to determine not only whether Trump committed crimes but also whether there was a broader criminal conspiracy playing out in the efforts to overturn Georgia’s election results.
Trump lost to Joe Biden in Georgia by nearly 12,000 votes in 2020. The former president has insisted that there was nothing problematic about his activities contesting the election.
What investigators are looking at: The Georgia probe was set off nearly two years ago by an hourlong January 2021 phone call from Trump to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger asking him to “find” the votes necessary for Trump to win the Peach State. Trump has referred to it as a “perfect” phone call.
Over time, the investigation expanded well beyond the Trump phone call to include false claims of election fraud to state lawmakers, the fake elector scheme, efforts by unauthorized individuals to access voting machines in one Georgia county as well as threats and harassment against election workers. Willis also investigated the sudden departure of BJay Pak, the US attorney for the Northern District of Georgia.
Willis designated a number of people as targets of her probe last year, including 16 Georgia Republicans who served as pro-Trump electors in 2020 and Rudy Giuliani, who was working as a lawyer for Trump.
What will and will not be in the release: On Thursday, the report’s introduction and conclusion, as well as concerns the panel had about witnesses lying under oath, will be made public. McBurney noted that some information in those sections might be redacted.
Other findings by the special grand jury won’t be public yet – particularly the parts where the report makes recommendations about potential charges. That’s because some of the people named in those recommendations may not have appeared in grand jury proceedings so far.
Its final report is likely to include some summary of the panel’s investigative work, as well as any recommendations for indictments and the alleged conduct that led the panel to its conclusions.
11:02 a.m. ET, February 16, 2023
The Fulton County district attorney said decision on whether to bring charges is "imminent"
From CNN's Sara Murray, Jason Morris and Devan Cole
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis suggested last month that the special grand jury investigating Donald Trump and his allies’ efforts to upend the 2020 election in Georgia has recommended multiple indictments and said that her decision on whether to bring charges is “imminent.”
At a hearing in Atlanta on whether to publicly release the special grand jury report Willis, a Democrat, said she opposed making it public at the moment, citing her ongoing deliberations on charges.
“Decisions are imminent,” Willis told Judge Robert McBurney.
“We want to make sure that everyone is treated fairly, and we think for future defendants to be treated fairly it’s not appropriate at this time to have this report released,” she said.
The special grand jury, barred from issuing indictments, penned the highly anticipated final report as a culmination of its seven months of work, which included interviewing witnesses from Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to former Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani. The special grand jury heard from a total of 75 witnesses, Willis said.
