Fulton County prosecutors were moving ahead of schedule on Monday in their presentation to a 23-person grand jury in their 2020 election interference case, raising the prospect that criminal charges against former President Donald Trump and his allies could be announced by the end of the day.
The schedule came into clearer focus after independent journalist George Chidi and former Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan were asked by the District Attorney’s office to testify on Monday afternoon instead of Tuesday morning. Chidi announced the scheduling change in a social media post; an official with direct knowledge confirmed Duncan’s new timing.
A spokesman for District Attorney Fani Willis declined to comment.
At least three other witnesses testified on Monday morning as Willis neared an expected announcement involving the grand jury’s decision: Gabe Sterling, a top official in the Secretary of State’s office; former state Rep. Bee Nguyen; and ex-state Sen. Jen Jordan.
John Floyd, a racketeering expert advising the Fulton County District Attorney’s office on this and other cases, was very “hands on” during the presentation, according to a source with knowledge.
Willis is expected to pursue racketeering and other charges against Trump and several of his campaign allies in her 2 1/2-year-old election interference case.
She is believed to be focusing on a handful of incidents that unfolded between Nov. 2020 and Jan. 2021.
They include calls from Trump to nearly a half-dozen Georgia officials pressuring them to help his effort to reverse his defeat to President Joe Biden, the appointment of sham GOP electors and Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani’s falsehood-filled testimony to state legislators about the vote count at Atlanta’s State Farm Arena.
The investigation could also refer to the harassment of two Fulton County poll workers and the accessing of sensitive election data from voting equipment in Coffee County.
Trump has dismissed the potential charges as a politicized prosecution from a corrupt justice system, echoing his attacks against prosecutors who have brought charges against him in Miami, New York and Washington.
This is a developing story. Please check back to ajc.com for updates.
Staff writers Shaddi Abusaid and Sara Gregory and interns Alice Tecotzky, Olivia Wakim, Toni Odejimi and Evan Lasseter contributed to this story.
