A Georgia judge released parts of an investigation of voter fraud claims during the state’s 2020 vote count. The highly anticipated report remains largely redacted – but excerpts suggest multiple witnesses may have committed perjury.
The grand jury has been investigating claims of widespread voter fraud in Georgia, repeated by former President Donald Trump. The jury concluded that claims of massive statewide fraud were false.
The grand jury also delivered recommendations for indictments to prosecutors.
“A majority of the Grand Jury believes that perjury may have been committed by one or more of the witnesses testifying before it,” the report says.
The grand jury can recommend charges but doesn’t have the power to charge individuals with a crime. The document also compels Georgia state prosecutors to “seek appropriate indictments for such crimes where the evidence is compelling.”
The recommendations for indictment remain sealed, following a judge’s orders to keep witnesses anonymous.
Trump did not testify in the grand jury hearings and is not currently charged with a crime.
The two-year probe into the handling of the 2020 election ended in January. Dozens of prominent Republicans, like Trump’s former personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) testified.
Trump lost the state by 11,779 to President Joe Biden. During a January 2021 call with Georgia’s Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, Trump asked Raffensperger to “find” the votes necessary to win. After Trump’s plea was rejected, the former president continued to spread misinformation surrounding the legitimacy of the elections systems in the state.
Surrogates of Trump’s, like Liz Harrington, have continued to claim fraud, despite a lack of evidence to support their claims.
The continued claims have resulted in anger directed at Georgia election workers, like Ruby Freeman and her daughter Wandrea “Shaye” Moss. The mother and daughter have filed defamation lawsuits against media companies and prominent Republicans that have published misinformation about them.
