Attorney Lin Wood named as state’s witness in Georgia case but says he hasn’t turned on Trump

Lin Wood, an attorney who filed lawsuits seeking to overturn former President Trump’s loss in the 2020 election, said he hasn’t turned on Trump after Georgia prosecutors named him as a witness.

Buried in a 103-page-long court document filed Wednesday, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’s (D) office noted Wood is a witness in its criminal case against Trump and 18 others in charges in Georgia that include racketeering and conspiracy.

In an interview with The Hill, Wood said he’s simply responding to a subpoena.

“There’s zero truth to that,” Wood said when asked if he had turned against Trump.

A special purpose grand jury that heard evidence in the probe for months had recommended Wood be indicted, but prosecutors ultimately opted against charging him with Trump and 18 others last month. Wood previously indicated that he had been subpoenaed to appear before the special grand jury.

Wood said he received the subpoena last week, after the indictment was handed up, to testify at next month’s trial. He dispelled the notion that he had reached some sort of agreement with prosecutors.

“I’m always willing to go in under subpoena. I’ll go testify and answer their questions, honestly, like I did in the grand jury,” Wood said.

Only two of the defendants, Trump-aligned attorneys Kenneth Chesebro and Sidney Powell, are slated to go to trial in October, while Trump and the others’ charges will move at a slower pace.

Wood and Powell were both involved in filing lawsuits challenging the 2020 election results based on unfounded claims of mass election fraud, though Wood never actually represented Trump.

Wood retired this summer and gave up his law license rather than face disbarment proceedings over his post-election efforts.

Powell is charged over a breach of an elections office in Coffee County, Ga., but Wood said he has no connection to those allegations.

“I continue to be at a loss to understand why I’m dragged into this,” Wood said.

Prosecutors revealed Wood is a witness as part of court documents identifying potential conflicts of interests for six attorneys representing various defendants in the case.

Willis’s office said Harry MacDougald, an attorney representing Trump Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark, who will not go to trial in October, has a potential conflict because he was previously co-counsel with Wood.

“L. Lin Wood is a witness for the State in the present case,” prosecutors wrote. “Mr. MacDougald’s former clients and co-counsel would be subject to cross-examination by him were he to remain counsel of record in this case.”

The Hill has reached out to MacDougald for comment.

“There is no conflict. We will respond to the motion in due course,” said Chris Anulewicz, who represents attorney Bob Cheeley, one of the defendants.

Willis’s office said Anulewicz has a potential conflict because he previously represented Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) and is a witness himself.

Willis also said Scott Grubman, an attorney representing Chesebro, had a potential conflict because he represented Raffensperger and his wife.

Grubman pushed back later in the day, writing in court filings that he only “briefly” represented the Raffenspergers in a personal capacity and that both they and Chesebro signed waivers giving Chesebro consent to continue.

“Mr. Grubman would have informed the District Attorney’s Office of such informed consent had they reached out before filing their Notice,” Grubman wrote. “The State did not extend that typical professional courtesy.”

The Hill has reached out to the other four attorneys also identified as having potential conflicts for comment.

Updated at 4:41 p.m.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.