Despite being warned by a judge about refraining from publicly discussing the January 6 riots case against him, Donald Trump appeared to tell a potential witness in a similar Georgia state case to not testify.
Taking to his social media site the Truth Social on Monday (Aug 14), Trump asked Georgia’s former Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan not to testify before a grand jury in Fulton County that is expected to hand down an indictment against Trump soon.
“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,” Trump wrote.
Trump then went on to deny that he didn’t tamper with the election.
“No, I didn’t tamper with the election! Those who rigged & stole the election were the ones doing the tampering, & they are the slime that should be prosecuted,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.
“Would someone please tell the Fulton County grand jury that I did not tamper with the election,” he said in another post.
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Duncan had earlier criticised Trump’s claim on the false election in 2020, on Saturday said he said that he had been told to appear on Tuesday (Aug 15) before the Fulton County grand jury.
On Friday, US District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan, the judge overseeing the federal case, issued a protective order barring Trump from revealing information he will receive from prosecutors as part of the pretrial preparation.
Chutkan did not grant prosecutors’ request for a broader limit on what Trump could talk about, but she did make it clear to Trump’s lawyers that his bid to return to the White House will not grant him privileges unavailable to other felony criminal defendants.
Apart from Duncan, independent journalist George Chidi is also expected to testify before the grand jury on Tuesday.
If the grand jury finds him guilty, then it would be the fourth indictment for Trump as he attempts to campaign to return to the White House.
