Witnesses in Trump election meddling probe ‘may have lied under oath’

A grand jury investigating efforts by Donald Trump to overturn his 2020 election loss in Georgia says it believes “one or more witnesses” lied under oath – and is urging local prosecutors to bring charges.

The panel also concluded there was no widespread fraud in the election, despite Trump’s false claims that the vote was rigged against him, according to excerpts released late on Thursday.

The bulk of the panel’s conclusions remains sealed for now, by order of a judge, leaving open the question of whether Trump or anyone else could face prosecution.

Rudy Giuliani and Republican senator Lindsey Graham were among 75 witnesses who gave sworn testimony.

Trump never testified before the special grand jury, meaning he is not among those who could have perjured themselves, but he remains under investigation by the Department of Justice for holding classified documents at his Florida estate.

“The long-awaited important sections of the Georgia report, which do not even mention President Trump’s name, have nothing to do with the president because President Trump did absolutely nothing wrong,” Steven Cheung, a Trump spokesperson, said in a statement.

Perjury in Georgia is punishable by imprisonment of up to 10 years.

Steve Sadow, an Atlanta lawyer, said perjury is typically charged in connection with other crimes. The grand jury's finding shows “there’s something that in fact went on and people are covering it up or attempting to cover it up.”

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis opened an investigation shortly after Trump's January 2021 phone call to a state official asking him to “find” more votes to overturn Joe Biden’s election victory.

“I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have, because we won the state,” Trump said in the call. Four days later, a mob of Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol in Washington, DC.

Trump continues to assert falsely that the 2020 election was stolen from him through widespread voting fraud. He has denied wrongdoing and accused Willis, an elected Democrat, of targeting him for political reasons.

Unlike a regular grand jury, the special grand jury was not empowered to issue indictments, only recommendations, and the decision on whether to press charges ultimately rests with Willis, the district attorney. If she decides prosecution is warranted, she would need to pursue indictments from a traditional grand jury.

Reuters and Associated Press contributed to this report.