美国国家公共电台 NPR--A Georgia judge weighs release of a grand jury report into 2020 election interference

A Georgia judge weighs release of a grand jury report into 2020 election interference

Transcript¹

A Georgia judge will soon decide what, if any, parts of a special grand jury report will be made public following an eight-month investigation² into efforts by former President Donald Trump³ and his allies to overturn the state's 2020 election results.

The special purpose grand jury, which was dissolved earlier this month after completing its work, did not have indictment⁴ powers but could use gathered evidence and testimony⁵ to recommend that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis seek charges. Several people, ranging from Trump's onetime personal attorney to Republicans who falsely claimed to be presidential electors, were informed they were targets of the investigation.

Jurors voted to release their report to the public, but the extremely rare nature of the special grand jury and limited legal authority have led to hurdles⁶ that could delay disclosure of the findings.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney will hold a hearing Tuesday to determine if releasing all or parts of the report would conflict with other laws and precedents⁷ that have historically prevented grand jury reports from making allegations of criminal wrongdoing without an accompanying indictment — which this panel could not recommend.

At the hearing, the DA's office, media outlets⁸ and potential targets of the investigation that might be named in the report are expected to argue their cases for releasing — or redacting — relevant sections of the findings.

What could be in the report?

Georgia was one of several key states that saw a coordinated⁹, sustained effort to challenge the 2020 presidential results, in which Joe Biden defeated Trump.

In February 2021, Willis announced an investigation into efforts to undo¹⁰ Trump's defeat in Georgia, asking state officials to preserve records from the election, and in January 2022 she requested a special purpose grand jury be convened¹¹ to investigate "the facts and circumstances relating directly or indirectly¹² to possible attempts to disrupt the lawful¹³ administration of the 2020 elections in the State of Georgia."

At the time, Willis listed several potential crimes, ranging from solicitation¹⁴ of election fraud to making false statements to governmental officials to racketeering.

Broadly, the work of the 26-person panel centered around two major themes:

the pressure campaign to reverse Trump's roughly 12,000-vote loss in Georgia's thrice-counted election;

and the coordinated effort to send so-called "alternate" slates¹⁵ of Republican presidential electors in states won by Biden.

The most infamous¹⁶ example of the former is Trump's phone call to Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, exhorting¹⁷ him to "find 11,780 votes" and undo Biden's victory ahead of the counting of Electoral College votes.

There were other calls, too, like South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham's conversation with Raffensperger regarding absentee ballots¹⁹, and another leaked call Trump had with Georgia's top election investigator²⁰ about a review of ballot¹⁸ envelopes.

Other areas of interest that have appeared in court filings include: a number of unofficial legislative²¹ hearings where Rudy Giuliani and others spread falsehoods about the state's election system and results, and attacked a pair of Fulton County poll workers with baseless claims that led to death threats; the resignation of U.S. Attorney BJay Pak amid turmoil²² with the Justice Department over pursuing false claims of voter fraud; and unauthorized access of voting equipment in a rural Georgia county.

On the second front, Willis and the special purpose grand jury appear to have narrowed in on the efforts across multiple swing states, including Georgia, to send documents from Republicans falsely claiming to be official presidential electors.

At least 17 people so far have been informed they could be prosecuted²³ for their actions, including the 16 fake electors and Giuliani. Willis has been disqualified from investigating one of the sham²⁴ electors, newly elected Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, after Jones argued a fundraiser that Willis hosted for his eventual²⁵ general election opponent created a conflict of interest.

The report could also name other incidents that prosecutors²⁶ should look into further, other people who should be interviewed and other crimes that might have been committed.

Who has been interviewed?

The special grand jury used subpoena²⁷ power to compel dozens of people to testify over the last several months, though faced difficulties from out-of-state witnesses.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, Attorney General Chris Carr, Raffensperger and other state employees appeared before the panel, as did local election officials and elected officials who played both large and small roles in defending, running or attacking the election.

Some subpoenaed²⁸ witnesses — like Trump-aligned attorneys John Eastman, Jenna Ellis and Kenneth Chesebro — tried unsuccessfully to fight their testimony in court but ultimately had to appear. Sen. Graham's efforts to halt his testimony were argued all the way to the U.S. Supreme²⁹ Court, which refused to block a lower court's ruling that Graham was protected from questioning about activities related to being a lawmaker but could answer for other statements and actions.

Giuliani — who is also being sued for defamation³⁰ by the two Fulton County election workers he accused of fraudulently counting ballots and "surreptitiously passing around USB ports as if they are vials of heroin³¹ or cocaine³²" — testified for hours behind closed doors after failed attempts to delay his appearance before the grand jury.

The report could also shed light on others who testified without needing a subpoena, as well as evidence used to draw conclusions about potential violations³³ of state law.

What about Trump?

One potential witness who was never issued a subpoena to testify is Trump himself. Many of his actions and statements were in the public domain³⁴, uncovered via reporting or shared through testimony from others, but it is unclear why the panel did not seek out Trump's testimony firsthand, as he is a central figure in the investigation.

It is not clear what the report will say about Trump's role or likelihood he could face charges, though Trump has retained several Georgia-based lawyers including Drew Findling, a high-profile attorney best known for defending celebrity³⁵ rap artists (and for past anti-Trump comments on social media). Campaign finance records show that over the second half of 2022, pro-Trump political action committees paid out nearly half a million dollars for "legal consulting" to Findling's law firm and another attorney, Jennifer Little.

In a statement to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Monday, Trump's attorneys said they would not be involved in Tuesday's hearing and have never been a part of the special grand jury process. "He was never subpoenaed nor asked to come in voluntarily by this grand jury or anyone in the Fulton County District Attorney's office," the statement reads in part. "Therefore, we can assume that the grand jury did their job and looked at the facts and the law, as we have, and concluded there were no violations of the law by President Trump."

But it is possible the report could still implicate³⁶ the former president in wrongdoing, and the district attorney could still seek an indictment.

What's next?

After the hearing, Judge McBurney could rule that the report should be made public in its entirety, with redactions regarding specific people and specific laws they might have broken, or opt³⁷ to keep the entire thing under wraps pending³⁸ further review.

Any of those rulings could be appealed.

The district attorney's office has received the full report and can issue indictments³⁹ through a regular grand jury process with or without the report being publicized. Willis might also push to keep the report from the public until her office makes decisions about charges.

Fulton County's investigation into election interference is one of several inquiries⁴⁰ Trump is facing, along with a federal probe into classified documents found at Mar-a-Lago and Trump's role in the leadup to the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, and New York-based investigations⁴¹ into Trump's business empire.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

3 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

4 indictment   

n.起诉；诉状

参考例句：

• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。
• They issued an indictment against them.他们起诉了他们。

5 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

6 hurdles   

n.障碍( hurdle的名词复数 )；跳栏；（供人或马跳跃的）栏架；跨栏赛

参考例句：

• In starting a new company, many hurdles must be crossed. 刚开办一个公司时，必须克服许多障碍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• There are several hurdles to be got over in this project. 在这项工程中有一些困难要克服。 来自辞典例句

7 precedents   

引用单元； 范例( precedent的名词复数 )； 先前出现的事例； 前例； 先例

参考例句：

• There is no lack of precedents in this connection. 不乏先例。
• He copied after bad precedents. 他仿效恶例。

8 outlets   

n.出口( outlet的名词复数 )；经销店；插座；廉价经销店

参考例句：

• The dumping of foreign cotton blocked outlets for locally grown cotton. 外国棉花的倾销阻滞了当地生产的棉花的销路。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They must find outlets for their products. 他们必须为自己的产品寻找出路。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 coordinated   

adj.协调的

参考例句：

• The sound has to be coordinated with the picture. 声音必须和画面协调一致。
• The numerous existing statutes are complicated and poorly coordinated. 目前繁多的法令既十分复杂又缺乏快调。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

10 undo   

vt.解开，松开；取消，撤销

参考例句：

• His pride will undo him some day.他的傲慢总有一天会毁了他。
• I managed secretly to undo a corner of the parcel.我悄悄地设法解开了包裹的一角。

11 convened   

召开( convene的过去式 )； 召集； （为正式会议而）聚集； 集合

参考例句：

• The chairman convened the committee to put the issue to a vote. 主席召集委员们开会对这个问题进行表决。
• The governor convened his troops to put down the revolt. 总督召集他的部队去镇压叛乱。

12 indirectly   

adv.间接地，不直接了当地

参考例句：

• I heard the news indirectly.这消息我是间接听来的。
• They were approached indirectly through an intermediary.通过一位中间人，他们进行了间接接触。

13 lawful   

adj.法律许可的，守法的，合法的

参考例句：

• It is not lawful to park in front of a hydrant.在消火栓前停车是不合法的。
• We don't recognised him to be the lawful heir.我们不承认他为合法继承人。

14 solicitation   

n.诱惑；揽货；恳切地要求；游说

参考例句：

• Make the first solicitation of the three scheduled this quarter. 进行三位名单上预期捐助人作本季第一次邀请捐献。 来自互联网
• Section IV is about the proxy solicitation system and corporate governance. 随后对委托书的格式、内容、期限以及能否实行有偿征集、征集费用由谁承担以及违反该制度的法律责任进行论述，并提出自己的一些见解。 来自互联网

15 slates   

（旧时学生用以写字的）石板( slate的名词复数 )； 板岩； 石板瓦； 石板色

参考例句：

• The contract specifies red tiles, not slates, for the roof. 合同规定屋顶用红瓦，并非石板瓦。
• They roofed the house with slates. 他们用石板瓦做屋顶。

16 infamous   

adj.声名狼藉的，臭名昭著的，邪恶的

参考例句：

• He was infamous for his anti-feminist attitudes.他因反对女性主义而声名狼藉。
• I was shocked by her infamous behaviour.她的无耻行径令我震惊。

17 exhorting   

v.劝告，劝说( exhort的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Joe Pationi's stocky figure was moving constantly, instructing and exhorting. 乔·佩特罗尼结实的身影不断地来回走动，又发指示，又替他们打气。 来自辞典例句
• He is always exhorting us to work harder for a lower salary. （（讽刺））他总是劝我们为了再低的薪水也得更卖力地工作。 来自辞典例句

18 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

19 ballots   

n.投票表决( ballot的名词复数 )；选举；选票；投票总数v.（使）投票表决( ballot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They're counting the ballots. 他们正在计算选票。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The news of rigged ballots has rubbed off much of the shine of their election victory. 他们操纵选票的消息使他们在选举中获得的胜利大为减色。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 investigator   

n.研究者，调查者，审查者

参考例句：

• He was a special investigator for the FBI.他是联邦调查局的特别调查员。
• The investigator was able to deduce the crime and find the criminal.调查者能够推出犯罪过程并锁定罪犯。

21 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

22 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

23 prosecuted   

a.被起诉的

参考例句：

• The editors are being prosecuted for obscenity. 编辑因刊载污秽文字而被起诉。
• The company was prosecuted for breaching the Health and Safety Act. 这家公司被控违反《卫生安全条例》。

24 sham   

n./adj.假冒(的)，虚伪(的)

参考例句：

• They cunningly played the game of sham peace.他们狡滑地玩弄假和平的把戏。
• His love was a mere sham.他的爱情是虚假的。

25 eventual   

adj.最后的，结局的，最终的

参考例句：

• Several schools face eventual closure.几所学校面临最终关闭。
• Both parties expressed optimism about an eventual solution.双方对问题的最终解决都表示乐观。

26 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

27 subpoena   

n.（法律）传票；v.传讯

参考例句：

• He was brought up to court with a subpoena.他接到传讯，来到法庭上。
• Select committees have the power to subpoena witnesses.特别委员会有权传唤证人。

28 subpoenaed   

v.（用传票）传唤（某人）( subpoena的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The court subpoenaed her to appear as a witness. 法庭传唤她出庭作证。
• The finance director is subpoenaed by prosecution. 财务经理被检查机关传讯。 来自《简明英汉词典》

29 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

30 defamation   

n.诽谤；中伤

参考例句：

• Character defamation can be either oral or written.人格诽谤既可以是口头的也可以是书面的。
• The company sued for defamation.这个公司因受到诽谤而提起诉讼。

31 heroin   

n.海洛因

参考例句：

• Customs have made their biggest ever seizure of heroin.海关查获了有史以来最大的一批海洛因。
• Heroin has been smuggled out by sea.海洛因已从海上偷运出境。

32 cocaine   

n.可卡因，古柯碱（用作局部麻醉剂）

参考例句：

• That young man is a cocaine addict.那个年轻人吸食可卡因成瘾。
• Don't have cocaine abusively.不可滥服古柯碱。

33 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

34 domain   

n.(活动等)领域，范围；领地，势力范围

参考例句：

• This information should be in the public domain.这一消息应该为公众所知。
• This question comes into the domain of philosophy.这一问题属于哲学范畴。

35 celebrity   

n.名人，名流；著名，名声，名望

参考例句：

• Tom found himself something of a celebrity. 汤姆意识到自己已小有名气了。
• He haunted famous men, hoping to get celebrity for himself. 他常和名人在一起, 希望借此使自己获得名气。

36 implicate   

vt.使牵连其中，涉嫌

参考例句：

• He didn't find anything in the notebooks to implicate Stu.他在笔记本中没发现任何涉及斯图的东西。
• I do not want to implicate you in my problem of the job.我工作上的问题不想把你也牵扯进来。

37 opt   

vi.选择，决定做某事

参考例句：

• They opt for more holiday instead of more pay.他们选择了延长假期而不是增加工资。
• Will individual schools be given the right to opt out of the local school authority?各个学校可能有权选择退出地方教育局吗？

38 pending   

prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的

参考例句：

• The lawsuit is still pending in the state court.这案子仍在州法庭等待定夺。
• He knew my examination was pending.他知道我就要考试了。

39 indictments   

n.（制度、社会等的）衰败迹象( indictment的名词复数 )；刑事起诉书；公诉书；控告

参考例句：

• A New York jury brought criminal indictments against the founder of the organization. 纽约的一个陪审团对这个组织的创始人提起了多项刑事诉讼。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• These two indictments are self-evident and require no elaboration. 这两条意义自明，无须多说。 来自互联网

40 inquiries   

n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending further inquiries. 他获得保释，等候进一步调查。
• I have failed to reach them by postal inquiries. 我未能通过邮政查询与他们取得联系。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

41 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。