Things just got interesting in Fulton County, Georgia.
Fulton County DA Fani Willis’ special-purpose grand jury investigating Donald Trump for conspiracy to commit election fraud and solicitation of election fraud, among other crimes, see Brooking Insititute, Fulton County, Georgia’s Trump Investigation An Analysis of the Reported Facts and Applicable Law, just subpoenaed the lawyers behind Trump’s Coup Plot, and Trump Fluffer Sen. Lindsey Graham.
The special-purpose grand jury doesn’t have the power to bring indictments, but it “may make recommendations concerning criminal prosecution as it shall see fit.”
CNN reports, Rudy Giuliani, Lindsey Graham and John Eastman subpoenaed by Fulton County DA in election probe:
An Atlanta-area grand jury investigating former President Donald Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia has subpoenaed a handful of key Trump allies, including his former attorney Rudy Giuliani and South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, according to court filings.
The subpoenas also cover a handful of Trump’s other former legal advisers, including John Eastman, Jenna Ellis, Cleta Mitchell and Kenneth Chesebro.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has been leading the investigation digging into Trump’s actions in Georgia. Several state officials have already been subpoenaed and have appeared before the special grand jury.
But the latest raft of subpoenas marks a new phase of grand jury activity that reaches into Trump’s inner circle.
A spokesperson for Graham did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Bob Costello, Giuliani’s attorney, said he has not yet received a subpoena and declined to comment further.
NBC News confirms, Rudy Giuliani, Lindsey Graham subpoenaed by grand jury in Trump election probe:
The Georgia special grand jury hearing evidence in an investigation into possible 2020 election interference by former President Donald Trump and others has issued subpoenas to Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and key members of Trump’s legal team, including Rudy Giuliani and John Eastman, NBC News has confirmed.
Also subpoenaed by the Fulton County special grand jury are lawyers Jenna Ellis, Cleta Mitchell and Kenneth Chesebro, all of whom worked with Trump in the aftermath of the election as he contested the results.
The subpoenas were first reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and were obtained by NBC News.
The special grand jury was empaneled earlier this year to assist Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ investigation into whether there were any “coordinated attempts to unlawfully alter the outcome of the 2020 elections” in Georgia.
Among the incidents Willis has said she’s investigating is a November 2020 phone call Graham made to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. Raffensperger has said Graham pressed him on whether he had the power to reject certain absentee ballots, a question Raffensperger interpreted as a suggestion to toss out legally cast votes.
Graham denied that’s what he was trying to do at the time, calling the allegation “ridiculous.” He told reporters he’d reached out to Raffensperger because he was “trying to find out how the signature stuff worked,” and that Raffensperger “did a good job of explaining to me how they verify signatures.”
Graham did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
This reporting is breaking news.
Note: Trump’s Chief of Staff Mark Meadows was also involved in the pressure campaign on Georgia election officials, but he was not among those subpoenaed today. Trump’s chief of staff could face scrutiny in Georgia criminal probe.
I have to say that it is discomforting and astonishing that the Fulton Count DA is far more aggressive than main Justice at the Department of Justice in pursuing the Coup Plotters behind the January 6 coup d’etat. These are subpoeanas which the Department of Justice with a criminal grand jury in Washington, D.C. could have issued over a year ago. A local County DA should not be put in this position.
Attorney General Merrick Garland really needs to get his act together and start hauling these Coup Plotters before a criminal grand jury or indicting them. No more delaying justice.
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UPDATE: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports, “AJC subpoenaed by Fulton prosecutors for audio of leaked call”, https://www.ajc.com/politics/ajc-subpoenaed-by-fulton-prosecutors-for-audio-of-leaked-call/VWJWL6KXZFANZL6JWT5KGS7WEY/
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has been subpoenaed for evidence by the Fulton County special grand jury investigating potential criminal meddling in Georgia’s 2020 elections by former President Donald J. Trump.
The 23-person grand jury is seeking the full audio recording of a leaked Jan. 11, 2021 conference call on which the AJC reported involving then-acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, Bobby Christine.
Christine, who was days into the role, told federal prosecutors in his new office that he had dismissed two election fraud cases filed by supporters of Trump due to lack of evidence.
“In my opinion, there is no there, there,” he said on the recording.
Christine was tapped for the position in early January 2021 after his predecessor, Byung J. “BJay” Pak, abruptly resigned. His appointment was a break from the traditional chain of command — when a top prosecutor resigns, they are typically replaced by the office’s No. 2 attorney — and raised fears of political interference.
Before his appointment to the northern district, Christine had been the top prosecutor in Georgia’s southern district since 2017. He retained both positions until President Joe Biden was sworn in.
Pak later testified before Congress that he stepped down because Trump advisers made clear that the then-president wanted him out because he didn’t feel he was aggressive enough in investigating allegations of election fraud.
Pak’s resignation has long been of interest to Fulton prosecutors, who launched their investigation in February 2021.
-This does not appear to present any freedom of the press issue, the grand jury is not interested in the source of the leak or the reporter’s sources, it just wants the full unedited version of the audiotape.
UPDATE: Fox 5 in Atlanata jhas bad news for those subpoenaed. There is a no nonsense judge who is in charge of enforcing these subpoenas. “Judge denies Lt. Gov. Duncan, former lawmaker’s attempt to avoid testifying on Trump grand jury probe,” https://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/fulton-county-trump-election-grand-jury-probe-subpoenaed-geoff-duncan
A Fulton County Superior Court judge has denied the Georgia lieutenant governor and a former state lawmaker’s attempt to stop from testifying in the county’s investigation into whether former President Donald Trump and others illegally tried to influence the 2020 election in the state
Lawyers representing former state Sen. William Ligon, who didn’t seek reelection in 2020, and Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan had asked the judge to quash subpoenas for them to testify before the panel, citing legislative privilege and immunity.
In an order released Wednesday, Judge Robert C.I. McBurney said both Ligon and Duncan will need to testify, but that there should be limits on how they can be questioned.
[In] his ruling, the judge declared that Willis could not ask the witnesses about anything he said while participating in a legislative session, and they also can not be asked about any direct communications with other legislators while preparing for the sessions.
“Where the legislative privilege ends and the grand jury’s authority to question the witnesses about possible criminal electoral interference by others begins is when a witness (or his staff) has engaged with private citizens on topics relevant to the grand jury’s investigative charter,” McBurney wrote in his decision.
McBurney said that whatever guidance ends up flowing from Friday’s hearing will not apply solely to Ligon and Duncan but will likely have a “carryover effect” when other lawmakers appear before the special grand jury. But he acknowledged that each lawmaker’s situation may require some degree of individual assessment.
CNBC reports, “Georgia DA won’t rule out subpoena for Trump in election interference investigation, says more allies will be called”, https://www.cnbc.com/2022/07/06/georgia-da-wont-rule-out-subpoena-for-trump-in-election-investigation.html
A Georgia district attorney on Wednesday said she will not rule out subpoenaing former President Donald Trump as part of her grand jury investigation into whether he criminally interfered in the 2020 election in that state.
“Anything’s possible,” Fulton County DA Fani Willis told NBC News. Willis added that she is “absolutely” not ruling out a Trump subpoena.
She also said she expects the grand jury in Atlanta to issue additional subpoenas to more Trump associates.
She also wouldn’t rule out subpoenaing Trump’s family or former White House officials. “We’ll just have to see where the investigation leads us,” she said.
In fairness to the DOJ, some of its attorneys are pursuing a criminal investigation into Donald Trump, albeit for other criminality.
CNBC reports, “Trump media company subpoenaed in federal criminal probe of SPAC deal”, https://www.cnbc.com/2022/07/01/trump-media-company-subpoenaed-in-federal-criminal-probe-of-spac-deal.html
Donald Trump’s media company was subpoenaed by a federal grand jury in connection with a criminal probe, according to the company with which the former president’s firm plans to merge.
Digital World Acquisition Corp. said in a filing Friday that Trump Media and Technology Group received a subpoena from the grand jury in Manhattan on Thursday. The Trump company also received a subpoena from the Securities and Exchange Commission regarding a civil probe on Monday, DWAC said.
DWAC also said some current and former TMTG employees have also recently received grand jury subpoenas. Later Friday, TMTG said it would comply with the subpoenas, and that none of them were directed at its chairman, Trump, or CEO, former U.S. Rep. Devin Nunes.
The filing came days after DWAC said the government investigations could delay or even prevent its merger with Trump’s newly formed company, which includes Truth Social, a social media app intended to be an alternative to Twitter.
The Justice Department and the SEC, which regulates the stock market, are investigating the deal between DWAC and Trump Media. By merging with DWAC, which is a kind of shell company called a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, Trump’s firm would gain access to potentially billions of dollars on public equities markets.
[E]arly criticism of the Trump-DWAC deal came from Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. In calling for an investigation, she wrote to SEC Chair Gary Gensler in November, telling him that DWAC “may have committed securities violations by holding private and undisclosed discussions about the merger as early as May 2021, while omitting this information in [SEC] filing and other public statements.” The lawmaker’s request came shortly after The New York Times published a report that said the deal might have violated securities laws and regulations.
DWAC shares are far off their highs, closing Friday at $24.20. The stock had surged above $90 in October, after the deal with Trump’s group was announced.
DWAC on Monday revealed in a securities filing that it learned June 16 that each member of its board of directors received subpoenas from the same federal grand jury.
The grand jury sought documents similar to those the SEC already requested as part of its civil probe, DWAC said. The company itself was served with a subpoena a week ago with similar requests, along with other requests relating to communications, individuals and information involving Rocket One Capital.
DWAC also revealed Monday that a board member, Bruce J. Garelick, had told management that he would quit the board during the previous week. Garelick said his resignation “was not the result of any disagreement with Digital World’s operations, policies or practices,” according to the company filing.
UPDATE: “Trump attorney with ‘unique knowledge’ ordered to testify in Georgia election case”, https://www.rawstory.com/trump-attorney-kenneth-chesebro/
A Georgia judge has ordered an attorney from former President Donald Trump’s campaign team to testify in a special grand jury investigation about efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
Joe Henke of 11Alive obtained the order, which names attorney Kenneth Chesebro as a “necessary and material” witness for the investigation focusing on Trump.
Chesebro allegedly had a role in organizing an “alternate” slate of electors that would elect Trump instead of Joe Biden. On December 14, 2020, the group assembled at the state capitol to cast their illegitimate votes for Trump.
“The court’s order said he was involved in the ‘coordination and execution of a plan to have 16 individuals meet at the Georgia State Capitol on December 14, 2020 to cast purported electoral college votes in favor of former President Donald Trump, even though none of those 16 individuals had been ascertained as Georgia’s certified presidential electors by Georgia Governor Brian Kemp,'” 11Alive reported.
Chesebro “[d]rafted at least two memoranda in support of this plan, which were provided to the Georgia Republican Party, and… provided template Microsoft Word documents to be used by the Georgia Republican Party at its meeting on December 14, 2020,” the order said.
The document asserted that the attorney has “unique knowledge” of the plot to overturn the election.
The House Select Committee on Jan. 6 and the Justice Department have also subpoenaed Chesebro.