The grand jury report proved what everyone – including Trump – already knew

It is telling that despite everything, the ex-president is leading GOP candidate for 2024 race

It can be a thankless task to try and peer into another man’s soul.

Especially when the person is Donald Trump.

It is theoretically possible that when Trump telephoned Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger on 2 January 2021 and asked him to “find” the 11,779 votes that separated his second-place position in the Peach State from Joe Biden, he truly believed the election had been rigged.

It is similarly, if you squint your eyes and grant every benefit of doubt to the likes of Rudy Giuliani, just about conceivable he too believed Biden’s critical victory was the result of election fraud.

But if we look at the masses of evidence available, and recall that Trump had been shouting about “voter fraud” a full six months before election day, a neutral observer would surely conclude Trump and many around him knew he had lost fair and square.

The talk of a stolen election was simply part of a hard-faced and sinister plot to try and grasp on to power at any cost.

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Though he was impeached by the House of Representatives for his role in the storming of the US Capitol, Trump has not been charged with any crime.

The release of some of the evidence heard by a Georgia grand jury investigating the actions of Trump and others, came to the same conclusion as the committee investigating January 6, that there was no election fraud.

“The grand jury heard extensive testimony on the subject of alleged election fraud from poll workers, investigators, technical experts, and State of Georgia employees and officials, as well as from persons still claiming that such fraud took place,” the report said.

It added: “We find by a unanimous vote that no widespread fraud took place in the Georgia 2020 presidential election that could result in overturning that election.”

The January 6 committee was even blunter in one of its hearings.

“The election fraud claims were false. Mr Trump’s closest advisers knew it. Mr Trump knew it,” Democratic Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren said during a hearing a year ago.

The point seems crucial, but one that is often overlooked. Parts of the media have for the past two years claimed “Trump believed there was voter fraud”.

But that is not the case; Trump may have claimed – contrary to all the evidence – that there was voter fraud. But it is a different thing to say that he or his top aides believed their own lies.

Certainly plenty of Trump’s supporters believed his claims, otherwise the US Capitol would not have been stormed in such still-shuddering scenes, and scores of GOP politicians would not have felt empowered not to certify Biden’s victory. Furthermore, two years after the 2020 election, more than 60 per cent of Republicans would not still believe the election was stolen. It is a truth that Trump’s lies about the election and the attendant damage to America’s democracy have only to a modest measure been repaired.

Crucially, the grand jury probe into alleged efforts by Trump and others to try and pressure election officials could result in a number of potential charges, including conspiracy to commit election fraud.

The information released on Thursday suggested jurors believed there was evidence crimes were committed. It said among the offences that may have been carried out was perjury, namely lying while under oath.

“[The grand jury] received evidence from or involving 75 witnesses during the course of this investigation, the overwhelming majority of which information was delivered in person under oath,” said the report. “[Perjury] may have been committed by one or more witnesses testifying before it.” The report added: “The grand jury recommends that the District Attorney seek appropriate indictments for such crimes where the evidence is compelling.”

The report did not say who is believed to have committed an offence, and called for potential charges to be pursued by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.

Trump, who has said repeatedly that his call with Raffensperger was “perfect” and denied any wrongdoing, did not give testimony – but he must be among those who could be accused of offences.

Other names in the mix are Giuliani, Trump’s former lawyer, who was told over the summer that he was a target of the investigation. David Shafer, the Georgia Republican Party chair, and Lt Gov Burt Jones have also received target letters. They were among the 16 alternate pro-Trump electors in Georgia, who Trump hoped could stand in for those designated by Biden’s win.

John Eastman, a previously little known law professor who helped hatch a scheme to help Trump remain in office by a distorted interpretation of the US constitution, is another person of interest.

It is more than two years since Trump picked up the phone to the election officials in Atlanta and asked them to find the votes that would help him retain him the White House. His efforts were bravely rebuffed.

Yet it is telling, that for all the country knows about Trump – his lies, his bullying, his narcissism – he remains the front runner to be the Republican candidate for the 2024 election.

Do his supporters still believe his lies about a rigged election. Or do they simply not care?