Former President Trump on Monday appeared to warn former Georgia lieutenant governor Geoff Duncan against testifying before the Fulton County grand jury in the state’s 2020 election probe.

Driving the news: “I am reading reports that failed former Lt. Governor of Georgia, Jeff Duncan, will be testifying before the Fulton County Grand Jury,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social account on Monday.

  • “He shouldn’t. I barely know him but he was, right from the beginning of this Witch Hunt, a nasty disaster for those looking into the Election Fraud that took place in Georgia.”
  • Duncan, who criticized Trump’s false election fraud claims in 2020, said Saturday that he had been told to appear Tuesday before the Fulton County grand jury.
  • “Republicans should never let honesty be mistaken for weakness,” he wrote in a post on X.

What’s next: Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis appears poised to issue a charging decision on Trump’s alleged efforts to subvert election results.

The big picture: Trump’s Monday Truth Social post comes days after the judge overseeing a separate trial — the federal probe into his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election — warned against making “inflammatory statements” that could intimidate witnesses in that trial.

  • U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan said during a Friday hearing that any appearance of witness tampering would increase the need for a speedy trial.
  • Trump already faces three criminal trials: In D.C. over efforts to overturn the 2020 election, in Florida over his retention of classified documents and in New York over an alleged hush money payment.
  • @[email protected]
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    11 months ago

    Not joking, it goes back to the Magna Carta and the origins of common law. In fact it is Clause 39 of the Great Charter of June 1215 CE and a case before Pope Innocent III and ordeals of fire and water. It’s interesting but it is the origin of jury trials and witness tampering laws.

    • @eestileib
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      311 months ago

      Ok but the Magna Carta isn’t really a thing over here, and I’m sure the common law precedents for witness/jury tampering have been superceded by new legislation.