ATLANTA — The grand jury hearing evidence against former President Donald Trump and others in an election interference case got underway Monday and things are moving quickly.
Some of the people who said they expected to testify on Tuesday have been moved to Monday. That includes Atlanta journalist George Chidi.
Channel 2 Action News cameras also caught former state Sen. Jen Jordan, former state Rep. Bee Nguyen and Gabriel Sterling with the Secretary of State’s Office walking into the courthouse Monday to testify for that grand jury as well.
Nguyen was in one of the committee hearings when Rudy Giuliani and his associates made numerous false claims of massive voter fraud and insisted the legislature had the legal authority to throw out the popular vote.
“This is your power, your obligation, and I know it’s surprising. I’ve been before state legislatures who didn’t realize it and really do,” Giuliani told the committee in December 2020.
After her testimony, Nguyen issued a statement acknowledging her appearance before the grand jury.
“I believe that any individual who wrongfully and illegally tried to overturn our valid election should be held accountable so that we can have a government of laws and not of men,” Nguyen said, in part.
Sterling was a guest on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday and told host Jonathan Karl that he would testify truthfully.
“My lawyers haven’t said I can talk too much about this one way or the other. So, but if I am called, when I am called, I will go in and do it, like I did before. I will tell the truth, answer honestly. That’s all we can do in this situation,” Sterling said.
Georgia State University professor Clark Cunningham said that he believes the grand jury will consider a number of underlying crimes including lying to Georgia lawmakers, but will all fall under a larger racketeering charge.
“Some of those things are racketeering crimes under Georgia law that could be used in putting together an indictment against the former president and people that he used in fact to assist him,” Cunningham said.
Earlier Monday, there was some confusion after the Fulton County clerk’s office posted what looked like an indictment of Trump.
At least one international news organization ran with it before the document was taken down.
The clerk’s office sent out a statement, saying:
“The Office of the Fulton County Clerk of Superior and Magistrate Courts has learned of a fictitious document that has been circulated online and reported by various media outlets related to The Fulton County Special Purpose Grand Jury.
“While there have been no documents filed today regarding such, all members of the media should be reminded that documents that do not bear an official case number, filing date, and the name of The Clerk of Courts, in concert, are not considered official filings and should not be treated as such.
“Media members can expect to be notified of any/all filings in real time and will be provided access to filings via equitable communication.
“As the official custodian of various county records, the Clerk of Courts understands the sensitivity of all court filings, especially those that are at the forefront of the national spotlight and remains committed to operating with an extreme level of efficiency, accuracy, and transparency.”