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Former President Donald Trump unleashed a series of posts on Truth Social on Monday, August 14, 2023. Trump seemed to be lashing out and suggesting that a witness should avoid testifying in the proceedings coming up this week. The witness Trump was referring to was former Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan. Meanwhile, the proceedings were related to the allegations against the former for trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election outcome.
The statements, however, haven't gone down well, and many legal analysts believe that it can be counted as "intimidation" of the witnesses. The ex-president also lashed out at Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and questioned her investigation skills.
Donald Trump has lashed out through a series of posts on social media, bashing witnesses
Donald Trump released a series of posts on Truth Social on Monday, ranting about the witnesses in the upcoming grand jury proceedings for the case where he faces allegations. He mentioned that a witness, Geoff Duncan shouldn't testify in the proceedings.
On the Truth Social posts, Trump claimed that he "barely" knew Duncan and that Duncan had been a "nasty disaster for those looking into the (Georgia) Election Fraud." According to the former President, this was because Duncan failed to call a special session to investigate when the ex-president claimed that the election was stolen.
He also went on to post on X, formerly known as Twitter, to say:
"Republicans should never let honesty be mistaken for weakness."
The posts come days after Trump was specifically warned against making "inflammatory statements" that could intimidate the witnesses involved in the proceedings. Trump further bashed Willis and called her a "phony." He went on to write:
"She wants desperately to indict me on the ridiculous grounds of tampering with the 2020 presidential election."
Donald Trump wrote in all capitals and stated:
"No, I didn’t tamper with the election!” he wrote in all capital letters. Would someone please tell the Fulton County grand jury that I did not tamper with the election."
Several legal analysts are considering the posts to be "intimidating" and that they can backfire on Trump too
After Trump claimed that the 2020 elections had been rigged, it was discovered that there were no signs of any rigging, whatsoever. State officials recounted and certified the election outcomes, and accusations and allegations of rigging were dismissed by courts.
However, a phone call took place between Trump and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, soon after the 2020 presidential elections. During this phone call, the former asked how many votes were needed for him to surpass Joe Biden in the elections. Attorney George Conway, a well-known Trump critic, said,
"This morning’s first attempt at witness intimidation."
Law professor, Anthony Michael Kreis, who teaches at Georgia State University, said that the posts can prove to be very harmful for Trump. He also described the post to be "blatantly unlawful stuff" and added
"This is exceptionally bad even for Donald Trump."
Geoff Duncan has been working as a political commentator on CNN and had been extremely vocal in negating Donald Trump's claims of a rigged 2020 election in the state.
