Parts of the Fulton County, Georgia special grand jury’s investigative report into then-President Trump’s efforts to overturn his narrow 2020 election loss in Georgia was released on Thursday.
The partial release totals just six pages, and it does not detail whether the grand jury recommends criminal indictments related to interference in the state’s 2020 election. But the partial report does say jurors believed that at least some unnamed witnesses who testified in the inquiry may have committed perjury and should face indictment.
The grand jury also found “that no widespread fraud took place in the Georgia 2020 presidential election that could result in overturning that election”—a rejection of arguments made by Trump and his supporters.
Further, the grand jury emphasizes that the partial report was not produced by a professional staff. The jurors say that District Attorney Fani Willis’ office “had nothing to do with the recommendations contained herein” and that the jury “contained no election law experts or criminal lawyers.” Instead, they say they “used their collective best efforts” to “attend every session, listen to every witness, and attempt to understand the facts as presented and the laws as explained.”
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney had promised on Monday the partial release of the grand jury’s report. His decision followed a hearing on January 24, when D.A. Willis had urged him to keep the report sealed for the time being, adding that decisions on whether to bring criminal charges were “imminent.”
Willis had cautioned that future defendants might argue that releasing the document, which includes details into former President Trump’s efforts to overturn his 2020 defeat, could publicly hurt their rights, including the right to a fair trial. McBurney had replied that there would be “no rash decisions,” citing the extraordinary nature of the investigation.
In her prosecution of Trump and his allies, Willis reportedly focused on several areas: phone calls made to Georgia officials by Trump and his allies; false statements made by Trump associates before Georgia legislative committees; a panel of 16 Republicans who signed a certificate falsely stating that Trump had won the state and that they were the state’s “duly elected and qualified” electors; the abrupt resignation of the U.S. attorney in Atlanta in January 2021; alleged attempts to pressure a Fulton County election worker; and breaches of election equipment in a rural south Georgia county.
The Fulton County special grand jury consists of 23 jurors and three alternates picked from a pool of residents from Atlanta and its suburbs. The jury was given full subpoena power for documents and the ability to call witnesses. The jurors’ identities have not been made public and may never be.
