Key figures in Trump grand jury probe
Fulton County prosecutors have spent 2 1/2 years investigating attempts by former President Donald Trump and his allies to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia.
Click the cards below to learn more about each person's role in the investigation.
>> Complete coverage of the Trump grand jury probe in Fulton County
Central figure
Donald Trump
The then-president had phone conversations with Georgia officials including Raffensperger, Gov. Brian Kemp and late House Speaker David Ralston pressing them to find ways to reverse Joe Biden’s narrow victory and hand him the state’s 16 electoral votes. Trump, also allegedly involved in fake elector discussions, was never interviewed, subpoenaed or informed he was an investigation target.
Under scrutiny
Rudy Giuliani
Trump’s former personal lawyer testified at three hearings in the Georgia Legislature in late 2020, during which he spread conspiracy theories and falsehoods about the election. He reportedly helped coordinate the Trump electors. His attorney said he was informed by Fulton prosecutors that Giuliani could face criminal charges.
Jacki Pick Deason
The Dallas-based attorney and podcast host testified before the Georgia Legislature about widespread voter fraud alongside Giuliani. She also narrated portions of the edited surveillance video from a vote tabulation site at State Farm Arena, which Giuliani said was a 'smoking gun' for fraud. She is one of only two known witnesses to win her subpoena fight against the DA’s office and did not testify.
GOP electors
The Fulton DA’s office sent 'target' letters to all 16 Georgia Republicans who claimed to be the state’s true presidential electors: David Shafer, chairman of the Georgia GOP (pictured), Shawn Still, Joseph Brannan, Ken Carroll, Vikki Consiglio, Carolyn Fisher, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, Kay Godwin, David Hanna, Mark Hennessy, Mark Amick, John Downey, Cathleen Latham, Daryl Moody, Brad Carver, C.B. Yadav.
Mark Meadows
John Eastman
A Trump campaign attorney, Eastman testified remotely before Georgia lawmakers alongside Giuliani in late 2020, contending there was evidence of widespread fraud. He was also a key architect of the attempt to pressure Vice President Mike Pence into rejecting the official Democratic electors in Georgia and other swing states in favor of 'alternate' Trump electors.
Kenneth Chesebro
Jenna Ellis
A lawyer affiliated with the Trump campaign, Ellis appeared with Giuliani at a Georgia legislative hearing, echoing falsehoods about Georgia’s elections. She also authored legal memos for Trump and his lawyers that said Pence should disregard certified electoral college votes from Georgia and other contested states. A Colorado judge directed her to testify before grand jurors last summer.
Sidney Powell
An attorney who worked with the Trump campaign after the 2020 elections, Powell allegedly coordinated with SullivanStrickler, an Atlanta data company, to obtain breached elections data from Coffee County, Ga., in Jan. 2021. Powell also allegedly tasked people with identifying Georgia residents who could serve as plaintiffs in suits contesting Georgia’s election results.
Key witnesses
Brad Raffensperger
Brian Kemp
Lindsey Graham
Cassidy Hutchinson
A former aide to then-White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, Hutchinson became a star witness for the U.S. House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. Hutchinson testified before the special grand jury in mid-November, presumably about conversations she participated in or overheard involving Trump, Meadows and others.
Frances Watson
Watson was the chief investigator for the Secretary of State’s office when she was contacted by Trump in December 2020. During that call, Trump told Watson she would find 'dishonesty' if she scrutinized absentee ballots in Fulton County and that she would be praised when 'the right answer' came out. She was subpoenaed last summer.
Ruby Freeman
A Fulton County elections worker, Freeman counted ballots alongside her daughter on election night 2020. Trump, Giuliani and others singled out Freeman for allegedly counting counterfeit ballots for Biden, but investigations from state and federal agencies found that Freeman and her daughter did nothing illegal. She and her daughter testified last summer.
Decisionmakers
Fani Willis
Willis was sworn in as Fulton County district attorney on Jan. 1, 2021. On Feb. 10, 2021 she announced that she was investigating whether Trump or his allies had broken any laws in Georgia. Despite enlisting the help of a special grand jury to help her gather evidence, it was ultimately Willis’ decision whether to press charges against anyone.
Nathan Wade
John Floyd
Floyd, widely considered to be Georgia’s leading authority on racketeering and conspiracy law, advised the prosecution teams that secured guilty verdicts on RICO charges for teachers and administrators involved in the Atlanta Public Schools cheating scandal. Willis tapped Floyd to join the DA’s office in an advisory capacity in March 2021.
Robert McBurney
Prosecuting Attorneys Council of Georgia
To be determined
Burt Jones
Georgia’s brand new lieutenant governor served as a GOP elector when he was a state senator in Dec. 2020 and received a 'target' letter from prosecutors. But Jones won a court challenge against Willis, successfully arguing that she and her office couldn’t ethically investigate him because of a fundraiser Willis had thrown for his Democratic opponent.