NOS News•
A special jury in the US state of Georgia has recommended indicting several people close to former President Donald Trump. They investigated possible vote manipulation in the 2020 presidential election.
Chief Judge Emily Kohrs wanted opposite The New York Times no specific names and charges mention, but did say that “it’s not a short list.” She responded cryptically when asked if Trump himself is on the list of names: “You won’t be shocked. This is not a rocket science. It won’t surprise anyone.”
The investigation examines whether Trump and his close associates attempted to influence vote counting in the state during the previous presidential election. In that election, it was very exciting who would win the state of Georgia. The votes were recounted twice, each time with Biden winning.
‘Find 11,780 votes’
On January 2, four days before the storming of the Capitol, Trump had a now-infamous phone call with Brad Raffensperger, the top government official charged with monitoring the state’s votes. In that conversation, which lasted more than an hour, Trump pushed for a recount: “I just want to find 11,780 votes.” That is exactly one vote more than the number of votes with which Biden ultimately won the state.
The investigative jury did not focus exclusively on Trump, but also on people around him and others within the Republican Party. A number of them are also said to have actively interfered in the voting process in Georgia. More than 70 witnesses interviewed in the investigation included senior Senator Lindsey Graham and Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani.
Advice only
Earlier, the jury reported that it strongly suspected that several witnesses had committed perjury and should therefore be prosecuted. Who they are, and whether they are now also on this new list of recommendations, is not clear.
Special juries in Georgia only give advice, and have no power to bring charges themselves. That responsibility now lies with the local prosecutor of Fulton County, the district where the investigation is ongoing.
