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Georgia grand jury recommends perjury indictments in Trump election meddling probe [1]

['Dan Mangan Kevin Breuninger', 'Dan Mangan', 'Kevin Breuninger']

Date: 2023-02-16

Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign stop to unveil his leadership team, at the South Carolina State House in Columbia, South Carolina, U.S., January 28, 2023. Shannon Stapleton | Reuters

A Georgia grand jury looking into possible election meddling by former President Donald Trump said "one or more witnesses" may have lied under oath and urged prosecutors to pursue criminal indictments in those cases. The special grand jury also found no significant fraud in Georgia's 2020 presidential election won by President Joe Biden, according to portions of the final report on its monthslong investigation unsealed Thursday. The grand jury was impaneled in May to investigate whether Trump, his lawyers and political allies committed any crimes in pressuring state officials to overturn the election in his favor, but Fulton County Judge Robert McBurney withheld those conclusions until prosecutors are ready to release the full report at a later time. The panel was looking at, among other things, a Jan. 2, 2021, call in which Trump asked Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to "find 11,780 votes," which is what the former president would have needed to win the state and its 16 Electoral College votes. Raffensperger refused to comply with Trump's request. Trump's campaign spokesman, Steven Cheung, said in a statement to NBC News that the former president "did absolutely nothing wrong." He added, "The President participated in two perfect phone calls regarding election integrity in Georgia, which he is entitled to do." Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis will determine whether to charge Trump or anyone else in the case.

"A majority of the Grand Jury believes that perjury may have been committed by one or more witnesses testifying before it," the report said. "The Grand Jury recommends that the District Attorney seek appropriate indictments for such crimes where the evidence is compelling." The grand jury voted unanimously in concluding that "no widespread fraud took place in the Georgia 2020 presidential election that could result in overturning that election," according to the report. In the few pages that were unsealed Thursday, the grand jury said it received evidence involving more than 75 witnesses, most of which was delivered in person and under oath. The report noted that the panel's extensive witness list included poll workers, investigators, technical experts and state officials, as well as "persons still claiming that such fraud took place." One of those witnesses, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told NBC later Thursday that he is "very confident" in the testimony he provided to the grand jury. Graham's calls to top election officials in Georgia after the 2020 election became an area of interest in Willis' probe. "I have no idea what they're going to do, I'll just leave it up to them," Graham said, adding that he is confident he did not perjure himself. The grand jury had 23 members and three alternates.

The Fulton County court in Atlanta, Georgia, US, on Monday, Feb. 13, 2023. Dustin Chambers | Bloomberg | Getty Images

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[1] Url: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/16/trump-grand-jury-recommends-perjury-indictments-finds-no-fraud-in-georgia-2020-election.html

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