The grand jury empaneled in Fulton County, Georgia to investigate the result of the 2020 presidential election and candidates' actions following Election Day completed its report in December, and a judge allowed limited excerpts with "its findings and recommendations to the District Attorney of Fulton County concerning its investigation into possible criminal interference in the 2020 general election in Georgia" to be released on Thursday.
As the report explains, the grand jury was tasked with investigating a specific issue: "the facts and circumstances relating directly or indirectly to possible attempts to disrupt the lawful administration of the 2020 presidential elections in the State of Georgia."
After hearing "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 report states that it found "by a unanimous vote that no widespread fraud took place in the Georgia 2020 presidential election that could result in overturning that election."
It's worth noting that the grand jury's conclusion is not that there was no fraud, just that they believed there wasn't a level of fraud that would have changed the outcome of the presidential race.
In addition, another excerpt from the grand jury's report states that a majority of the jury "believes that perjury may have been committed by one or more witnesses testifying before it" and "recommends that the District Attorney seek appropriate indictments for such crimes where the evidence is compelling."
Really only two headlines from the 9 pages of grand jury report released by Fulton County today: jurors found no significant election fraud, and they believe at least one witness lied under oath.
— Garrett Haake (@GarrettHaake) February 16, 2023
Everything else about their work will have to wait.
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Some 75 witnesses testified before the grand jury between June and December 2022, but a full list of witnesses was not among the report excerpts released on Thursday, nor were any individuals identified as those the grand jury believes perjured themselves.
Notably missing as well are the grand jury's recommendations on charges for any other parties as a result of their investigation into challenges to the result of Georgia's 2020 presidential election — something many on the left have been hoping for in their years-long crusade to see Donald Trump put behind bars for a smorgasbord of supposed crimes.
For now, we'll all have to wait and see whether prosecutors follow the grand jury's recommendation to charge any witnesses with perjury and if they voted to bring charges against the 45th president or others working on his behalf in the wake of the 2020 presidential election. Apart from what was disclosed on Thursday, it's all still speculation and, for Democrats, wishful thinking.
This is a developing story and may be updated.
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