Fulton County DA to present charges to grand jury this week
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is expected to present her case against former President Donald Trump and his allies for their alleged attempts to interfere with the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia before a grand jury this week, according to sources familiar with the matter. Willis, a Democrat, has been conducting a wide-ranging criminal investigation that focuses on efforts to pressure election officials, the plot to put forward fake electors, and a voting systems breach in rural Coffee County, Georgia.
Willis has indicated that she is considering conspiracy and racketeering charges, which would allow her to bring a case against multiple defendants. Trump and his acolytes believe they will face charges in Georgia next week, CNN has reported. Willis’ office declined to comment on the matter.
Witnesses subpoenaed to testify include former GOP lieutenant governor
Among the witnesses that Willis has subpoenaed to appear before the grand jury are former Republican Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, former Georgia Democratic state Sen. Jen Jordan, and independent journalist George Chidi. All of them have previously testified before a special purpose grand jury that was tasked with investigating the Trump case and heard from more than 75 witnesses.
Duncan, who publicly broke with Trump in 2020 and has frequently criticized the “stop the steal” movement that spread through GOP circles, said he received notification to appear on Tuesday morning and he will do his part in recounting the facts. He added that he has no expectations as to the questions and he will answer whatever questions are put in front of him.
Jordan, who resigned from the state Senate last month to run for attorney general, said she was also asked to testify on Tuesday. She said she believes she was subpoenaed because of her role as a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which received a call from Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani in December 2020 asking for help in overturning the election results.
Chidi, who stumbled upon a meeting of sham Republican electors at the state Capitol in December 2020, said he received a call from Willis’ office on Saturday and he was asked to come to court on Tuesday for testimony before the grand jury. He said he expects to be asked about what he saw and heard at the meeting, which was part of an effort by Trump’s allies in Georgia to undermine President Joe Biden’s narrow victory.
Trump’s phone call with Raffensperger at the center of the case
One of the key pieces of evidence that Willis is likely to present to the grand jury is the infamous phone call that Trump made to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger on January 2, 2021, in which he pressured him to “find” enough votes to overturn his loss in the state. The call was recorded and leaked to the media, sparking outrage and condemnation from Democrats and some Republicans.
In the call, Trump repeated false claims of voter fraud and ballot tampering, and threatened Raffensperger with possible legal consequences if he did not comply with his demands. He also asked Raffensperger to recalculate the votes and declare him the winner of Georgia.
Raffensperger, a Republican who has defended the integrity of the election, rejected Trump’s requests and told him that his data was wrong. He later said that he felt that Trump was trying to intimidate him and that he was prepared to testify if needed.
Willis has obtained a copy of the recording and transcripts of the call from Raffensperger’s office. She has also requested documents and communications related to the call from several other officials, including Gov. Brian Kemp, Lt. Gov. Duncan, Attorney General Chris Carr, and members of the state election board.
Other potential charges include fake electors scheme and voting system breach
In addition to Trump’s phone call with Raffensperger, Willis is also looking into other possible violations of Georgia law that occurred during and after the 2020 election. These include:
- The fake electors scheme: On December 14, 2020, a group of Republicans gathered at the state Capitol and claimed to be Georgia’s official electors for Trump, even though Biden had won the state by more than 11,000 votes. They signed certificates of election for Trump and sent them to Washington D.C., hoping to create confusion and chaos in Congress. The scheme was orchestrated by Mark Meadows, Trump’s former chief of staff, who also called Raffensperger’s office multiple times to pressure him to overturn the election results.
- The voting system breach: On December 3, 2020, a contractor working for Pro V&V, a company hired by the secretary of state’s office to audit voting machines in Georgia, accessed a server in Coffee County that contained sensitive election data without authorization. The contractor allegedly tampered with the server and deleted files, causing errors and discrepancies in the audit results.
- The contractor also allegedly instructed local election officials to download software from a questionable website that could have compromised the security of the voting system. The secretary of state’s office has denied any wrongdoing and said that the contractor was following standard procedures.
Willis has requested documents and communications related to these incidents from various officials and entities, including Meadows, Kemp, Carr, Raffensperger, Pro V&V, and Coffee County election officials. She has also interviewed several witnesses and experts who have knowledge or involvement in these matters.
Trump could face serious legal consequences if indicted in Georgia
If Willis decides to indict Trump and his allies in Georgia, they could face serious legal consequences that could jeopardize their political and personal futures. Under Georgia law, conspiracy to commit election fraud is a felony that carries a penalty of one to three years in prison. Racketeering is also a felony that carries a penalty of five to 20 years in prison.
Moreover, an indictment in Georgia could have implications for other criminal investigations that Trump is facing in other jurisdictions, such as New York and Washington D.C., where he is being probed for tax fraud, bank fraud, insurance fraud, campaign finance violations, obstruction of justice, and incitement of insurrection. An indictment in Georgia could also affect Trump’s potential run for president in 2024, as it could damage his reputation and support among voters and donors.
Willis has said that she is not motivated by politics or personal animosity, but by her duty to uphold the law and protect the integrity of the election. She has also said that she is ready to go to trial if necessary and that she is confident in her case.
