Perjury alleged in Georgia's election probe of Trump

A report by a special grand jury investigating whether former US president Donald Trump and his allies interfered in the presidential election in Georgia to overturn the 2020 result said that "one or more witnesses" committed perjury and urged local prosecutors to file charges.

However, the jurors didn't name who they believed committed perjury and what other specific charges should be pursued. The report said only that a "majority of the grand jury believes that perjury may have been committed by one or more witnesses testifying before it" and the "evidence is compelling".

Only five pages of text were released. They didn't specify the grand jury's conclusions whether they recommended indictments related to election interference. But the report did say that "we find by a unanimous vote that no widespread fraud took place in the Georgia 2020 presidential election that could result in overturning that election", rejecting arguments made by Trump and his supporters.

The partial release was ordered Monday by Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney, who oversaw the special grand jury. Last month, prosecutors urged him not to release the report until they decide on charges, while a coalition of media organizations pushed for the entire report to be made public immediately.

McBurney wrote in his order that it isn't appropriate to release the full report now because it is important to protect the due process rights of people for whom the grand jury recommended charges.

Trump and his allies made unproven claims of widespread voter fraud and repeatedly berated Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and Republican Governor Brian Kemp for not overturning his narrow loss to his opponent Joe Biden.

The special grand jury was formed as part of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis' investigation into whether there were any "coordinated attempts to unlawfully alter the outcome of the 2020 elections" in the state by Trump and his allies.

The report revealed that over the course of about seven months, the special grand jurors interviewed 75 witnesses, "heard extensive testimony on the subject of alleged election fraud from poll workers, investigators, technical experts, and state of Georgia employees and officials, as well as from persons who still claim such fraud took place" and "the overwhelming majority of which information was delivered in person under oath".

The witnesses included Trump allies such as former New York mayor and Trump attorney Rudy Guiliani and South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham.