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| - FACT CHECK: Did A Fulton County Court Forget To Redact The Names Of The Grand Jurors Who Voted On Trump’s Indictment?
A post shared on X, the social media platform previously known as Twitter, purports Fulton County, Georgia Superior Court officials forgot to redact the names of the grand jurors who voted to indict former President Donald Trump.
First they “leak” the indictment before the jury even voted, then they forget to redact juror names!!! pic.twitter.com/n9UmAq6jU5
— TRUMP ALWAYS WIN!!! (@DavidYeshua4) August 15, 2023
Verdict: False
The claim is false. Under Georgia state law, the identities of jurors are not kept secret, according to The Washington Post.
Fact Check:
The Fulton County Sheriff’s Office is investigating threats made to the grand jurors who voted to indict Trump, according to CBS News. The grand jurors’ names and addresses were reportedly published by Trump supporters on a fringe website that “often features violent rhetoric,” NBC News reported.
“First they ‘leak’ the indictment before the jury even voted, then they forget to redact juror names!!!” the X post, viewed over 200 times, purports. The post includes a photo with the list of the 26 grand jurors who voted to indict Trump. Three of the 26 jurors’ names are crossed out.
The claim is false, however. Under Georgia state law, the identities of jurors are not kept secret, according to The Washington Post. The law does not give judges the option to protect the jurors’ names, even those assigned to high-profile cases, in the interest of transparency, legal experts told the outlet.
Executive Director of the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia, Pete Skandalakis, told the outlet that Georgia has always had a “very open process.”
“It’s a matter of public record,” Skandalakis explained. “Georgia has always been proud of the fact that the court system is a very open process here. I have not found a case — that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist — that allows us to keep grand jurors’ names secret,” he added.
Likewise, Check Your Fact found no credible news reports indicating Fulton County, Georgia Superior Court officials had forgotten to redact the grand jurors’ names. (RELATED: Viral Post Claims Fulton County DA Is Going To Charge Trump For Sullying Her Image)
In addition, Check Your Fact looked into the claim Trump’s indictment had been “leaked” before the grand jury had even voted. The office of Fulton County Clerk of Superior and Magistrate Courts Che Alexander told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution a “sample working document” outlining Trump’s charges circulated among the press and on social media prior to the actual indictment being filed.
The “sample working document” was purportedly used to test the computer system and avoid any potential glitches ahead of the actual indictment, knowing it would be a lengthy document, Alexander said, according to the outlet.
Trump and 18 other individuals, including his lawyer, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, were indicted on Aug. 14 in relation to their attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. Violation of Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced And Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act was one of the 41 charges outlined in the over 90-page indictment.
Check Your Fact has contacted the Fulton County District Attorney and Sheriff’s Offices for comment and will update this piece accordingly if one is received.
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