Washington
CNN
—
A Atlanta area prosecutor He has announced at least two witnesses to appear before a grand jury early next week, the most significant sign of his intention to seek an indictment in an investigation into how Donald Trump and others tried to sway the 2020 election in Georgia.
Former Georgia Lt. Gov. Jeff Duncan, a Republican, said on CNN on Saturday that he was told to appear before a Fulton County grand jury on Tuesday to testify about the efforts of Trump and his associates. Freelance journalist George Sidi posted on social media late Saturday that he was told to appear before a grand jury on Tuesday as well.
Upcoming appearances signal that Fulton County District Attorney Fannie Willis is moving forward with a grand jury presentation that is expected to bring indictments against more than a dozen people stemming from her investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
“I received a notice to appear before the Fulton County Grand Jury on Tuesday morning and I will certainly be there to do my part in laying out the facts,” Duncan, a CNN contributor, told CNN’s Fredricka Whitfield on Saturday.
“I have no expectations about the questions, and I will certainly answer the questions that are put in front of me,” Duncan said.
Willis, an elected Democrat Monitoring conspiracy and fraud allegations At his trial, this would allow him to bring a case against multiple defendants. The wide-ranging criminal investigation focuses on efforts to pressure state election officials, a conspiracy to impersonate voters and tampering with voting procedures in rural Coffee County, Georgia.
A spokeswoman for Willis declined to comment Saturday.
The expected indictments would mark the culmination of a nearly three-year investigation, which Willis began in early 2021, after Trump summoned Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensberger. Pressured the Republican Party to “find” the necessary votes Trump should win the state.
At a campaign event earlier this week, Trump continued to insist it was a “perfect phone call.”
Charges will continue in Georgia Special Counsel Jack SmithFederal charges against Trump related to efforts to rig the 2020 election, as well as a special counsel’s indictment of Trump for mishandling classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida and New York state criminal charges related to falsifying business records. Trump denies wrongdoing in all cases.
Duncan, CT, and former Georgia state Sen. Jen Jordan, a Democrat, have testified as Willis makes his case. They all previously testified before the special purpose grand jury investigating the Trump case, which heard from a total of more than 75 witnesses.
The Georgia law is unusual in that special purpose grand juries — which have broad investigative powers — are not allowed to issue indictments. When subpoenaed witnesses appear before a regular grand jury, those grand jurors hear the witnesses’ testimony for the first time with a narrow purpose: to approve or reject indictments.
As his investigation expands, Willis is weighing allegations of fraud in the Trump case. RICO — the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act — is a law the district attorney has fondly talked about and used in unconventional ways to bring charges against teachers and musicians in the Atlanta area.
This story has been updated with additional information.
