ATLANTA — Key witnesses in the investigation into whether former President Donald Trump and his allies interfered with Georgia’s 2020 presidential election were sighted Monday at the Fulton County Courthouse, when prosecutors appeared ready to file charges.
A filing appeared on the Fulton County Court’s website shortly after noon, Reuters reported, showing that Trump had been indicted. The document was quickly removed from the site, Reuters reported, changing its report to say that Georgia “is ready to impeach the former president.” A representative for the Fulton County Attorney’s Office called the report inaccurate.
Former Sen. Jen Jordan and Rep. Bee Nguyen — two Democrats who attended hearings where then-Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani urged officials not to confirm Georgia election results — were spotted in the courthouse by NBC News.
Jordan would not confirm that she was there to testify, but was overheard asking security for directions to the Fulton County District Attorney’s office inside the building. Nguyen confirmed to reporters that she had testified before the grand jury as she left the courthouse in the early afternoon.
There were also signs that the grand jury was moving quickly. Freelance journalist George Chidi, who was scheduled to testify before the grand jury Tuesday, told NBC News, “I just got an early call-up,” and made his way to the courthouse Monday afternoon.
Jordan, Nguyen and Chidi were among several who received subpoenas for testifying before a grand jury this month. Another is Geoff Duncan, a Republican who served as the state’s lieutenant governor during the 2020 presidential election and has been critical of Trump’s efforts to redeem his loss in the state.
Trump said in a post on his social media site Truth Social that Duncan should not comply.
“I’m reading reports that failed former Georgia Lieutenant Governor Jeff Duncan will testify before the Fulton County Grand Jury. He shouldn’t,” Trump wrote in a post on his social media platform Truth Social, calling him a “loser” and a “nasty disaster.” The post also poked fun at CNN, where Duncan works as a contributor.
The post appeared to have the potential to expose Trump to further legal troubles — most notably a law in Georgia on witness tampering.
Prosecutors declined to comment on the post, and a Trump representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Duncan also declined to comment on Trump’s post, “except that he misspelled ‘Geoff’.”
The former president also continued his attacks on Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, whom he called “wrong” and alleged he was engaged in a political witch hunt. “She just wants to get ‘Trump,'” he wrote in one of his capped posts.
Since early 2021, Willis has been conducting a full investigation into whether there were “coordinated attempts to improperly alter the outcome of the 2020 election” by Trump and his allies.
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She convened a special grand jury Last year, the agency was authorized to subpoena witnesses to help with the investigation. According to court documents, the statements of 75 witnesses were heard. The panel recommended indicting more than a dozen people, his boss told NBC’s Nightly News in February.
Willis’ investigation has looked at Trump’s efforts to pressure Republican Governor Brian Kemp, Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and others to contest the confirmed election results, and a plan to create a list of alternate presidential voters.
Those cases also played a major role in Special Counsel Jack Smith’s federal indictment earlier this month, which alleged Trump used “unlawful means” to try to stay in office.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to the federal case, claiming he did nothing wrong in Georgia.
Security in and around the courthouse was increased last week and remained increased on Monday. Willis sent letters to the chief justice and law enforcement officers earlier in the year, suggesting her office could file charges in the first half of August.
“I respectfully urge the judges not to schedule court hearings and in-person hearings for the weeks beginning Monday, August 7 and Monday, August 14,” Willis wrote in her letter to the chief justice in May.
Charlie Gile and Vaughn Hillyard reported from Atlanta. Dareh Gregorian, Jesse Rodriguez and Allan Smith reported from New York. Jake Traylor reported from Bedminster.
Vaughn Hillyard, Jake Traylor, Allan Smith and Jesse Rodriguez all contributed.
