Fulton County grand jury resumes investigation into possible Trump election tampering

FULTON COUNTY, Ga. - The special Fulton County grand jury investigating whether former President Donald Trump and others illegally meddled in the state’s 2020 election resumed its investigation Tuesday.

Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan was expected to testify on Tuesday.

Fulton Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney ruled last week that Lt. Gov. Duncan and former Brunswick state Sen. William Ligon will both have to testify before the special grand jury. However, his ruling put limits on what the district attorney and grand jurors can ask. 

Judge McBurney ruled prosecutors cannot ask Duncan about "anything he said while participating in any session of the legislature" or any direct communication with other legislators.

Attorney Don Samuel, who is one of the special assistant legislative lawyers, told FOX 5, it was a fair ruling. 

The judge also ruled Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and her team can investigate whether any outside individuals tried to influence Georgia legislators as part of a "possibly illegal scheme" to interfere with the electoral process. 

Former state senator Ligon and other legislators are expected to testify throughout the week.

Another notable figure expected to testify soon is South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, who was ordered by a judge Monday to comply with a subpoena.

Graham was one of a handful of Trump confidants and lawyers named last Tuesday in petitions filed by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis as part of her investigation into what she alleges was "a multi-state, coordinated plan by the Trump Campaign to influence the results of the November 2020 election in Georgia and elsewhere."

In the petition, Willis wrote that Graham, a longtime Trump ally, made at least two telephone calls to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and members of his staff in the weeks after the November 2020 presidential election, which Trump lost to Democrat Joe Biden. During those calls, Graham asked about reexamining certain absentee ballots "to explore the possibility of a more favorable outcome for former President Donald Trump," she wrote.

Graham says the allegations are all "politically motivated."

The grand jury has already heard from other witnesses, including Raffensperger and Attorney General Chris Carr.

In the upcoming weeks, they're expected to hear from key members of Trump's legal team, who defended the former president's claims that the election was stolen. Among the seven people the grand jury wants to hear from is Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani and attorney John Eastman.

In late 2020, Giuliani testified in front of a Georgia legislative committee claiming tens of thousands of illegal votes were cast in the Peach State. He also made allegations of rigged voting machines that flipped votes in favor of President Joe Biden.

The seven people, who also include lawyers Kenneth Chesebro, Cleta Mitchell, Jenna Ellis, John Eastman and Jacki Pick Deason, are expected to appear anytime between Tuesday and Aug. 30.

Also expected to testify is Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan and former state Sen. William Ligon, who chaired that Dec. 3, 2020, committee hearing where Giuliani and others spoke. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.