A special grand jury in Fulton County, Georgia, tasked with investigating potential crimes of interference in the state’s elections in 2020, has subpoenaed seven individuals who were in former President Donald Trump’s inner circle at the time of the alleged misconduct — including two of his former lawyers, Rudy Giuliani and John Eastman, and current U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina).
Subpoenas are which were filed on TuesdayFulton County Superior Judge Robert McBurney signed the documents. He is the supervising judge for the special grand jury and must sign all subpoena orders involving people who are not residents of Georgia. Several state officials have already appeared before the special grand jury to discuss their knowledge of Trump’s behavior and the actions of his campaign members in the weeks after the presidential election.
The subpoenas issued on Tuesday demonstrate that the investigation isn’t just focused on Trump, but also on members of his inner circle who tried to influence election officials to overturn the results.
During a public hearing in Georgia after the race was called for Biden, for instance, Giuliani peddled false claims that election fraud had taken place — including a debunked story that suitcases of ballots for Biden were stuffed into voting machines after Republican poll watchers were sent home on Election Night.
Eastman was also present at the hearing and was a part of the plot to create fake electors in several states. He wrongly asserted that there was “more than enough” evidence of fraud to justify the Georgia legislature overturning the will of voters in the state to pick their own set of Trump-friendly electors, an action that would have likely violated state law.
Graham personally called Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s (R) office twice after Trump’s loss in Georgia to ask about “reexamining certain absentee ballots cast in Georgia in order to explore the possibility of a more favorable outcome for former President Donald Trump.”
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has been leading the investigationTrump and his associates tried to persuade Georgia election officials to alter the outcome of the presidential election. President Joe Biden won the state by less than 12,000 votes. The special grand jury cannot issue indictments but can make recommendations to criminal charges. Willis then can convene a standard jury to investigate.
The evidence against Trump is quite convincing. Ryan Germany and Raffensperger had a phone conversation. Trump infamously told Raffensperger to “find” him 11,780 votes — the exact number needed to overcome Biden’s margin — and threatened that the Georgia official could face legal ramifications if he refused to do so.
Georgia’s law forbids coercion, threat, and command of state election officials to commit fraud.
According to some legal experts, who cite evidence shared by the House select committee investigating the January 6 Capitol attack, the Georgia inquiry is the investigation that’s most likely to result in indictments or convictions against Trump and his allies.
“Once you look at what [Trump] said, trying to get Brad Raffensperger to come up with extra votes to make him a winner in Georgia, and put in the context about the January 6th committee has found, I think they have gotten a case beyond a reasonable doubt,” Nick Akerman, a former Watergate prosecutor, said last month.
