A special jury that investigated whether Donald Trump and his allies illegally interfered in Georgia’s 2020 election heard a recording of the former president urging the state’s top lawmaker to call a special session to overturn his loss to the state, according to with a press report.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Wednesday that it spoke to five members of a special grand jury who said they had heard a recording of a telephone conversation between Trump and Georgia House Speaker David Ralston that had not been previously reported and made public. Ralston, who died in November, did not call an emergency session in the weeks following the November 2020 election.
The five grand jurors – three men and two women – spoke to the newspaper but declined to be named because they feared for their safety and privacy.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis launched an investigation in Georgia in early 2021, shortly after another recording of a phone call between Trump and a top government official was made public. During that phone call on January 2, 2021, Trump hinted that Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger might “find” the votes needed to reverse his small loss in the state.
“All I want to do is just find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have,” Trump said during the call. “Because we won the state.”
In a separate recording made public in early 2021, Trump speaks to the chief investigator at Raffensperger’s office in December 2020, pressuring her to look into Fulton County, saying she will “find things that will be unbelievable.” Trump also told her, “When the right answer comes, you will be praised.”
A special grand jury that convened in May heard about 75 witnesses and considered other evidence before concluding its work in December. He had no authority to issue indictments, but instead produced a report with recommendations for Willis.
The chairwoman of the special grand jury said in press interviews last month that the panel had recommended indicting a number of people but declined to say who. Ultimately, it’s up to Willis to decide whether to go to a regular grand jury to bring one or more indictments in the case. She said at a hearing in January that decisions in the case were “imminent”.
