Atlanta

Judge says Trump knew voter fraud accusations in Georgia were wrong, but pushed them anyway

ATLANTA — Former President Donald Trump knew claims that thousands of people voted illegally in Georgia weren’t accurate, but signed off on them in two lawsuits anyway. That’s according to a new ruling by a California federal court judge.

That ruling could impact the special grand jury investigation here in Fulton County.

The ruling involves what was privileged information and emails between Trump’s attorneys. Among the emails the judge said had to be turned over as evidence, was one demonstrating Trump knew that his voter fraud numbers were inaccurate, but he included them in two Georgia lawsuits anyway.

Channel 2 Action News was there in December 2020 when Trump’s attorneys, including Rudy Giuliani, testified before a Georgia Senate subcommittee investigating the election.

It was the same hearing where attorney Ray Smith made claims that tens of thousands of ineligible residents, felons and dead people had voted:

“10,315 or more individuals to vote who are deceased by the time of the election,” Smith claimed during the hearing.

Now, in a California case deciding which documents and emails another Trump attorney has to turn over to the Jan. 6 committee, a judge ruled that Trump knew the numbers weren’t accurate when he included them in two Georgia lawsuits.

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“The emails show that President Trump knew that the specific numbers of voter fraud were wrong but continued to tout those numbers both in court and to the public,” the ruling said. “The court finds that these emails are sufficiently related to and in furtherance of a conspiracy to defraud the United States.”

Judge David Carter went on to rule that this was all part of an effort to delay the Jan. 6 certification.

While the Fulton County district attorney’s office had no comment on the ruling, sources say this is among the things the special purpose grand jury is now looking into and records show Giuliani himself is now a target for potential indictment for criminal interference in Georgia’s elections.

Channel 2 Action News was there as the former New York mayor went into the courthouse to testify in front of the grand jury over the summer. He did not say much as he entered the courthouse.

We do expect to see the findings of the grand jury soon — by the end of this year or early next.

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