Key things to know about the Georgia grand jury report on Trump and 2020 election
From CNN's Devan Cole, Marshall Cohen, Katelyn Polantz and Tierney Sneed
Police officers walk past the Lewis R. Slaton Courthouse after a grand jury brought back indictments against former President Donald Trump and 18 of his allies in their attempt to overturn the state's 2020 election results, in Atlanta, Georgia, on August 15. Cheney Orr/Reuters
Portions of the highly anticipated report from a special grand jury in Georgia that investigated Donald Trump’s actions in the state after the 2020 election and recommended a number of people be indicted for alleged crimes were released in February, and Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney is expected to release the full final report on Friday.
The special grand jury “unanimously” concluded that there wasn’t widespread voter fraud in Georgia in 2020, rejecting Trump’s conspiracy theories after hearing “extensive testimony” from election officials, poll workers and other experts.
“The Grand Jury heard extensive testimony on the subject of alleged election fraud from poll workers, investigators, technical experts, and State of Georgia employees and officials, as well as from persons still claiming that such fraud took place,” the grand jury said.
“We find by a unanimous vote that no widespread fraud took place in the Georgia 2020 presidential election that could result in overturning that election,” it added.
The grand jury’s conclusions on the fraud matter were important because it once again established that Trump was attempting to overturn the results of a legitimate election.
The special grand jury recommended that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis consider indicting some witnesses for perjury.
The grand jury “received evidence from or involving 75 witnesses during the course of this investigation, the overwhelming majority of which information was delivered in person under oath.” But jurors clearly weren’t satisfied.
Perjury “may have been committed by one or more witnesses testifying before it,” according to portions of the report. “The Grand Jury recommends that the District Attorney seek appropriate indictments for such crimes where the evidence is compelling.”
How the special grand jury operated: Parts of the special grand jury report released Thursday shed light on how the panel – which had 26 members, including three alternates – operated behind closed doors over the past several months.
The grand jury began hearing evidence on June 1, 2022, having been empaneled a month earlier, and heard from 75 witnesses who played a range of roles in the 2020 election in Georgia. That testimony was usually delivered under oath.
The grand jury also reviewed physical and digital evidence, as well as the testimony from investigators and the input of team of assistant district attorneys who outlined for the grand jury the applicable statutes and procedures.
13 min ago
What is RICO, the law at the center of Trump’s Georgia criminal case?
The state law — which is commonly referred to as RICO — is similar to the federal version of the statute that targets so-called criminal enterprises. Georgia’s law allows prosecutors to pull an array of conduct – including activities that took place outside of the state of Georgia but may have been part of a broad conspiracy — into their indictments.
Those convicted of racketeering charges also face steeper penalties, a point of leverage for prosecutors if they are hoping to flip potential co-conspirators or encourage defendants to take plea deals.
For Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, the law has been her calling card. The Atlanta-area prosecutor has used it in a number of high-profile cases she’s previously brought in Georgia against school officials, gangs and musicians, including the rapper Young Thug.
What's being accused in this case: The historic 41-count indictment accuses Trump and the other defendants of being part of a broad conspiracy to attempt to overturn the 2020 election result in Georgia.
“The enterprise constituted an ongoing organization whose members and associates functioned as a continuing unit for a common purpose of achieving the objectives of the enterprise,” the 98-page indictment states.
“The enterprise operated in Fulton County, Georgia, elsewhere in the State of Georgia, in other states, including, but not limited to, Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, and in the District of Columbia,” the indictment adds.
Prosecutors say the criminal actions the charge is built around include: making false statements, filing false documents and forgeries, impersonating officials, computer breaches and attempts to influence witnesses.
Several of the acts alleged to have made up the racketeering conspiracy involved states other than Georgia. White and other legal experts stressed that Willis’ use of RICO against Trump and his co-defendants will allow prosecutors to easily tie alleged conduct into their case.
1 min ago
Fulton County district attorney slams Rep. Jim Jordan’s investigation into her prosecution of Trump and allies
From CNN's from Annie Grayer and Sara Murray
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and Rep. Jim Jordan. Getty Images
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis delivered a scathing response to House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan’s demands for information about her investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia, slamming the Republican for trying to “interfere with an active criminal case,” according to a new letter.
Willis condemned Jordan’s investigation into her case against former President Donald Trump and his allies. She said the Jordan probe’s “obvious purpose is to obstruct a Georgia criminal proceeding and to advance outrageous partisan misrepresentations.”
She argued “there is no justification in the Constitution for Congress to interfere with a state criminal matter, as you attempt to do.”
Dismissing Jordan’s requests for a broad array of documents pertaining to her investigation, Willis argued Congress does not have the jurisdiction to seek information about her ongoing criminal investigation.
“Your letter seeks the revelation of non-public and privileged information concerning my office’s investigation and prosecution of a specific case,” Willis wrote. “Your job description as a legislator does not include criminal law enforcement, nor does it include supervising a specific criminal trial because you believe that doing so will promote your partisan political objectives.”
Willis did voluntarily provide information about the federal funds her office receives. She said her office has received more than $14 million in federal grants for a variety of programs, including addressing violent crime, at-risk youth and domestic violence.
By providing the explanations for each grant, Willis seems to be trying to get ahead of a common refrain from Jordan and other House Republicans, who say the government has been weaponized against conservatives and have threatened to cut funding to federal law enforcement.
“If you and your colleagues follow through on your threats to deny this office federal funds, please be aware that you will be deciding to allow serial rapists to go unprosecuted, hate crimes to be unaddressed, and to cancel programs for at-risk children,” Willis wrote. “Such vengeful, uncalled for legislative action would impose serious harm on the citizens we serve, including the fact that it will make them less safe.”
CNN has reached out to Jordan’s office for comment.
Willis also attached a series of threats against her and her family.
CNN's Jason Morris contributed reporting to this post.
30 min ago
Fulton County district attorney is seeking to keep potential juror identities secret in Georgia election case
From CNN's Sara Murray
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis speaks during a news conference at the Fulton County Government building on August 14 in Atlanta, Georgia. Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis wants to keep the identities of jurors who may be chosen to hear the Georgia 2020 election interference case secret, after grand jurors who issued the indictment against Donald Trump and his allies were doxed online, according to a new court filing.
Willis is asking the court to “issue an order restricting any Defendant, members of the press, or any other person from disseminating potential jurors’ and empanel jurors’ identities during voir dire and trial,” according to the Wednesday filing.
“Based on the doxing of Fulton County grand jurors and the Fulton County District Attorney, it is clearly foreseeable that trial jurors will likely be doxed should their names be made available to the public,” according to the filing. “If that were to happen, the effect on jurors’ ability to decide the issues before them impartially and without influence would undoubtedly be placed in jeopardy, both placing them in physical danger and materially affecting all of the Defendants’ constitutional right to a fair and impartial jury.”
CNN previously reported that names, photographs, social media profiles and even the home addresses purportedly belonging to members of grand jury who voted to indict Trump and his 18 co-defendants circulated on social media.
The names of the grand jurors were included on the indictment as a matter of practice for indictments in Fulton County. However, the indictment, which is a public record available on the court website, does not include their addresses or any other personally identifiable information.
Doxing the grand jurors who voted on the indictment “resulted in law enforcement officials, including the Atlanta Police Department, Fulton County Sheriff’s Office, and other police departments in the jurisdiction, putting plans in place to protect the grand jurors and prevent harassment and violence against them,” the district attorney’s office said in the filing.
It notes that personal information for Willis and members of her family was also shared online.
In an affidavit included with the filing, an investigator in the district attorney’s office said he worked with the Department of Homeland Security to determine that the site that listed the personal information for Willis and her family members was hosted by Russia “and is known by DHS as to be uncooperative with law enforcement.”
31 min ago
Trump tells judge he may try to move Georgia 2020 election case to federal court
From CNN's Marshall Cohen
Former President Donald Trump walks to speak with reporters before departure from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on August 24. Alex Brandon/AP/File
Trump’s lawyers have previously said they would try to move the case, which could help him get the charges dropped by invoking immunity protections for federal officials.
“President Trump hereby notifies the Court that he may seek removal of his prosecution to federal court,” his lawyer Steven Sadow said in a brief court filing. “To be timely, his notice of removal must be filed within 30-days of his arraignment.”
The 30-day clock began on August 31, when Trump waived his right to an arraignment hearing and entered a not guilty plea.
There are several potential benefits for Trump if he can move the state case into federal court.
It would give him additional avenues to get the charges dropped if he can convince a judge that his alleged actions in the indictment were tied to his formal duties as a government official.
If the case stays in state court, the jurors will all come from Fulton County, which President Joe Biden won by a 47-point margin. If the case moves to federal court, the jury pool will be culled from a 10-county region near Atlanta that Biden won by 32 points, a narrower but still comfortable margin.
Several of Trump’s 19 co-defendants are already attempting to move their case to federal court.
Grand jury report to be released: Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney is expected to release the full final report this morning of the special grand jury that investigated Donald Trump and his allies' attempts to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia. The document could reveal if the panel wanted to indict more people, beyond the 19 charged last month by Fulton District Attorney Fani Willis.
Trump tries to move case: Trump on Thursday formally notified Judge Scott McAfee, who is overseeing the Georgia election subversion case, that he “may” try to move his state case into federal court. In a hearing Wednesday, McAfee was highly skeptical of the district attorney's proposed October trial for all of the co-defendants. He said he hopes to decide key questions on the trial schedule and breaking up the 19-defendant case by early next week.
All plead not guilty: All 19 defendants in the sprawling racketeering case — including Trump — have pleaded not guilty and waived their in-person arraignments. It is the fourth time Trump has pleaded not guilty to criminal charges this year.
Police officers walk past the Lewis R. Slaton Courthouse after a grand jury brought back indictments against former President Donald Trump and 18 of his allies in their attempt to overturn the state's 2020 election results, in Atlanta, Georgia, on August 15. Cheney Orr/Reuters
Portions of the highly anticipated report from a special grand jury in Georgia that investigated Donald Trump’s actions in the state after the 2020 election and recommended a number of people be indicted for alleged crimes were released in February, and Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney is expected to release the full final report on Friday.
The special grand jury “unanimously” concluded that there wasn’t widespread voter fraud in Georgia in 2020, rejecting Trump’s conspiracy theories after hearing “extensive testimony” from election officials, poll workers and other experts.
“The Grand Jury heard extensive testimony on the subject of alleged election fraud from poll workers, investigators, technical experts, and State of Georgia employees and officials, as well as from persons still claiming that such fraud took place,” the grand jury said.
“We find by a unanimous vote that no widespread fraud took place in the Georgia 2020 presidential election that could result in overturning that election,” it added.
The grand jury’s conclusions on the fraud matter were important because it once again established that Trump was attempting to overturn the results of a legitimate election.
The special grand jury recommended that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis consider indicting some witnesses for perjury.
The grand jury “received evidence from or involving 75 witnesses during the course of this investigation, the overwhelming majority of which information was delivered in person under oath.” But jurors clearly weren’t satisfied.
Perjury “may have been committed by one or more witnesses testifying before it,” according to portions of the report. “The Grand Jury recommends that the District Attorney seek appropriate indictments for such crimes where the evidence is compelling.”
How the special grand jury operated: Parts of the special grand jury report released Thursday shed light on how the panel – which had 26 members, including three alternates – operated behind closed doors over the past several months.
The grand jury began hearing evidence on June 1, 2022, having been empaneled a month earlier, and heard from 75 witnesses who played a range of roles in the 2020 election in Georgia. That testimony was usually delivered under oath.
The grand jury also reviewed physical and digital evidence, as well as the testimony from investigators and the input of team of assistant district attorneys who outlined for the grand jury the applicable statutes and procedures.
The state law — which is commonly referred to as RICO — is similar to the federal version of the statute that targets so-called criminal enterprises. Georgia’s law allows prosecutors to pull an array of conduct – including activities that took place outside of the state of Georgia but may have been part of a broad conspiracy — into their indictments.
Those convicted of racketeering charges also face steeper penalties, a point of leverage for prosecutors if they are hoping to flip potential co-conspirators or encourage defendants to take plea deals.
For Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, the law has been her calling card. The Atlanta-area prosecutor has used it in a number of high-profile cases she’s previously brought in Georgia against school officials, gangs and musicians, including the rapper Young Thug.
What's being accused in this case: The historic 41-count indictment accuses Trump and the other defendants of being part of a broad conspiracy to attempt to overturn the 2020 election result in Georgia.
“The enterprise constituted an ongoing organization whose members and associates functioned as a continuing unit for a common purpose of achieving the objectives of the enterprise,” the 98-page indictment states.
“The enterprise operated in Fulton County, Georgia, elsewhere in the State of Georgia, in other states, including, but not limited to, Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, and in the District of Columbia,” the indictment adds.
Prosecutors say the criminal actions the charge is built around include: making false statements, filing false documents and forgeries, impersonating officials, computer breaches and attempts to influence witnesses.
Several of the acts alleged to have made up the racketeering conspiracy involved states other than Georgia. White and other legal experts stressed that Willis’ use of RICO against Trump and his co-defendants will allow prosecutors to easily tie alleged conduct into their case.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and Rep. Jim Jordan. Getty Images
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis delivered a scathing response to House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan’s demands for information about her investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia, slamming the Republican for trying to “interfere with an active criminal case,” according to a new letter.
Willis condemned Jordan’s investigation into her case against former President Donald Trump and his allies. She said the Jordan probe’s “obvious purpose is to obstruct a Georgia criminal proceeding and to advance outrageous partisan misrepresentations.”
She argued “there is no justification in the Constitution for Congress to interfere with a state criminal matter, as you attempt to do.”
Dismissing Jordan’s requests for a broad array of documents pertaining to her investigation, Willis argued Congress does not have the jurisdiction to seek information about her ongoing criminal investigation.
“Your letter seeks the revelation of non-public and privileged information concerning my office’s investigation and prosecution of a specific case,” Willis wrote. “Your job description as a legislator does not include criminal law enforcement, nor does it include supervising a specific criminal trial because you believe that doing so will promote your partisan political objectives.”
Willis did voluntarily provide information about the federal funds her office receives. She said her office has received more than $14 million in federal grants for a variety of programs, including addressing violent crime, at-risk youth and domestic violence.
By providing the explanations for each grant, Willis seems to be trying to get ahead of a common refrain from Jordan and other House Republicans, who say the government has been weaponized against conservatives and have threatened to cut funding to federal law enforcement.
“If you and your colleagues follow through on your threats to deny this office federal funds, please be aware that you will be deciding to allow serial rapists to go unprosecuted, hate crimes to be unaddressed, and to cancel programs for at-risk children,” Willis wrote. “Such vengeful, uncalled for legislative action would impose serious harm on the citizens we serve, including the fact that it will make them less safe.”
CNN has reached out to Jordan’s office for comment.
Willis also attached a series of threats against her and her family.
CNN's Jason Morris contributed reporting to this post.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis speaks during a news conference at the Fulton County Government building on August 14 in Atlanta, Georgia. Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis wants to keep the identities of jurors who may be chosen to hear the Georgia 2020 election interference case secret, after grand jurors who issued the indictment against Donald Trump and his allies were doxed online, according to a new court filing.
Willis is asking the court to “issue an order restricting any Defendant, members of the press, or any other person from disseminating potential jurors’ and empanel jurors’ identities during voir dire and trial,” according to the Wednesday filing.
“Based on the doxing of Fulton County grand jurors and the Fulton County District Attorney, it is clearly foreseeable that trial jurors will likely be doxed should their names be made available to the public,” according to the filing. “If that were to happen, the effect on jurors’ ability to decide the issues before them impartially and without influence would undoubtedly be placed in jeopardy, both placing them in physical danger and materially affecting all of the Defendants’ constitutional right to a fair and impartial jury.”
CNN previously reported that names, photographs, social media profiles and even the home addresses purportedly belonging to members of grand jury who voted to indict Trump and his 18 co-defendants circulated on social media.
The names of the grand jurors were included on the indictment as a matter of practice for indictments in Fulton County. However, the indictment, which is a public record available on the court website, does not include their addresses or any other personally identifiable information.
Doxing the grand jurors who voted on the indictment “resulted in law enforcement officials, including the Atlanta Police Department, Fulton County Sheriff’s Office, and other police departments in the jurisdiction, putting plans in place to protect the grand jurors and prevent harassment and violence against them,” the district attorney’s office said in the filing.
It notes that personal information for Willis and members of her family was also shared online.
In an affidavit included with the filing, an investigator in the district attorney’s office said he worked with the Department of Homeland Security to determine that the site that listed the personal information for Willis and her family members was hosted by Russia “and is known by DHS as to be uncooperative with law enforcement.”
Former President Donald Trump walks to speak with reporters before departure from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on August 24. Alex Brandon/AP/File
Trump’s lawyers have previously said they would try to move the case, which could help him get the charges dropped by invoking immunity protections for federal officials.
“President Trump hereby notifies the Court that he may seek removal of his prosecution to federal court,” his lawyer Steven Sadow said in a brief court filing. “To be timely, his notice of removal must be filed within 30-days of his arraignment.”
The 30-day clock began on August 31, when Trump waived his right to an arraignment hearing and entered a not guilty plea.
There are several potential benefits for Trump if he can move the state case into federal court.
It would give him additional avenues to get the charges dropped if he can convince a judge that his alleged actions in the indictment were tied to his formal duties as a government official.
If the case stays in state court, the jurors will all come from Fulton County, which President Joe Biden won by a 47-point margin. If the case moves to federal court, the jury pool will be culled from a 10-county region near Atlanta that Biden won by 32 points, a narrower but still comfortable margin.
Several of Trump’s 19 co-defendants are already attempting to move their case to federal court.
