The special purpose grand jury that investigated former President Donald Trump’s attempts to reverse his 2020 election defeat in Georgia is worried that some witnesses may have lied under oath.
Those concerns are laid out in a section of the panel’s final report that is now due to be released on Thursday, along with the introduction and conclusion of the report.
Key details about potential criminal defendants and specific charging recommendations will be held secret for now, however, to protect the rights of future potential defendants who haven’t had a chance to defend themselves, local Judge Robert McBurney wrote in a ruling released on Monday.
“The consequence of these due process deficiencies is not that the special purpose grand jury’s final report is forever suppressed or that its recommendations for or against indictment are in any way flawed or suspect,” McBurney wrote. “Rather, the consequence is that those recommendations are for the district attorney’s eyes only—for now. Fundamental fairness requires this.”
The decision to release parts of the report while holding back names and allegations reflects a partial victory for Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who has been investigating Trump and his allies since early 2021 and recently asked McBurney to keep the entire report secret because her charging decisions are “imminent.”
The panel “provided the District Attorney with exactly what she requested: 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.
The public release of the report has been hotly anticipated ever since the panel wrapped up its investigation in January. Willis’ investigation is just one of several criminal probes now looming over Trump, although it may be the closest to resulting in final charging decisions.
Special Counsel Jack Smith is also investigating Trump’s attempts to stay in power despite losing the 2020 election, and the discovery of sensitive government documents at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach. In New York, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has reportedly begun showing evidence to a grand jury about Trump’s role in a scheme to buy the silence of an adult film actress named Stormy Daniels about her alleged sexual affair with Trump before the 2016 election.
McBurney wrote that “fundamental fairness” requires that the names of individuals identified in the report be withheld while Willis decides whether to bring charges and against whom. Those potential defendants haven’t yet had a chance to call their own witnesses as they would in a normal criminal trial, McBurney noted. Witnesses who spoke before the special purpose grand jury were not allowed to have their lawyers present.
“By all appearances, the special purpose grand jury did its work by the book,” McBurney wrote. “The problem here, in discussing public disclosure, is that the book’s rules do not allow for the objects of the District Attorney’s attention to be heard in the manner we require in a court of law.”
Willis has already presented almost 20 people with so-called target letters, informing them that they may be charged with crimes.
That includes Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani and the so-called fake electors who signed a false certificate declaring Trump the winner of Georgia’s election. She is not known to have given Trump a target letter.
Willis requested the creation of the special purpose grand jury and served as its legal advisor. She has said she is investigating possible violations of prohibitions against solicitation to commit voter fraud and racketeering.
The panel subpoenaed testimony from a wide range of senior Trump allies and prominent Georgia officials, including Giuliani, Trump’s former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, GOP Senator from South Carolina Lindsey Graham, and many more. The special purpose grand jury heard testimony from a total of 75 witnesses, Willis said in February.
Willis’ probe began after Trump called Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger on Jan. 2, 2021 and urged the local official to help Trump “find” enough votes to win. The call was tape-recorded and then leaked to the media, including the Washington Post.
“All I want to do is this,” Trump told Raffensperger. “I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have, because we won the state.”
This content was originally published here.
