A former Georgia official and a journalist revealed on Saturday that they have been summoned to appear before a Fulton County grand jury. The jury is currently investigating allegations of concerted attempts by former President Donald Trump and his associates to invalidate the outcome of Georgia’s 2020 election.
Geoff Duncan, a former Lieutenant Governor of Georgia and a member of the Republican Party, acknowledged during a CNN interview that he has been called to testify before the grand jury. Duncan later confirmed this on his Twitter account, stating, “I have received a request to provide testimony before the Fulton County grand jury on Tuesday. I am ready to address their inquiries concerning the 2020 election. The strength of honesty should never be misconstrued as weakness, even among Republicans.”
Following his defeat in the 2020 election, Trump is alleged to have applied pressure on Duncan and other Georgia officials, urging them to convene a special legislative session with the intention of overturning the election results in the state. Both Duncan and Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, also Republicans, declined this purported request.
The origins of the investigation trace back to a recorded phone conversation between Trump and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger on January 2, 2021. During the call, Trump was heard saying, “I only need to locate 11,780 votes, one more than what we currently have.”
Since then, the scope of the investigation has expanded significantly. It now encompasses a comprehensive inquiry into a series of endeavors aimed at reversing the election outcome in Georgia subsequent to Trump’s electoral defeat. Among these efforts is an alleged scheme to replace the state’s chosen electoral college votes for then-President-elect Joe Biden with an alternative set of electors, colloquially referred to as “fake” electors.