The Fulton County, Georgia, Special Grand Jury’s report, a portion of which was released Thursday morning, states, “no widespread fraud took place in the Georgia 2020 presidential election that could result in overturning that election.”
The investigation was spurred by Donald Trump’s phone call to Brad Raffensperger, during which he pressured the Georgia Secretary of State to “find 11,780 votes,” so he could unlawfully be declared the winner of the state that Joe Biden won.
Legal exerts are weighing in on the just-released report, with one making clear that, “If that’s true,” there was no widespread fraud, “then Trump likely committed crimes.”
That statement was made by CNN legal analyst Norm Eisen, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, the co-founder and executive chair of the States United Democracy Center, and perhaps best-known as co-counsel for the House Judiciary Committee during the 2020 impeachment and trial of Donald Trump.
Jurors unanimously agreed that no widespread fraud took place. The full line reads: “We find by unanimous vote that no widespread fraud took place in the Georgia 2020 presidential election.”
The partial report makes one other important statement: “A majority of the Grand Jury believes that perjury may have been committed by one or more witnesses testifying before it. The Grand Jury recommends that the District Attorney seek appropriate indictments for such crimes where the evidence is compelling.”
National security lawyer Brad Moss observes, “The redacted part of the report appears to include recommendations on indictments.”
Former FBI General Counsel Andrew Weissmann, a well-known MSNBC legal analyst calls the “no widespread” election fraud statement by jururs, “Not a good omen for Trump & co,” and says, “the next shoe to drop will be Willis’s,” referring to Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.
Acknowledging that “the Fulton County special grand jury report reveal[s] very little,” former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti sums it up, saying: “The grand jury found that witnesses lied to them, but their names are not revealed. They also concluded there was no voter fraud, which could help establish charges.”
But he adds: “I expect charges to follow,” and suggests they could come within weeks.