A special grand jury has been selected to probe Trump’s actions in the 2020 Georgia election: NPR
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, right, speaks to a member of her team during the proceedings to sit in the special purpose grand jury chair in Fulton County, Ga., on Monday
Ben Gray / AP
hide captions
switch captions
Ben Gray / AP
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, right, speaks to a member of her team during the proceedings to sit in the special purpose grand jury chair in Fulton County, Ga., on Monday
Ben Gray / AP
ATLANTA – A special grand jury was selected Monday to investigate whether former President Donald Trump and others tried to illegally influence the 2020 election in Georgia.
The investigation has been ongoing since early last year, and Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis took the unusual step of asking a special grand jury for help. She noted in a letter to the judge that the special grand jury would be able to issue subpoenas to those who refused to cooperate.
The chief justice ordered the special grand jury to sit for a period of up to a year, starting Monday. Of the approximately 200 people called from the county’s overall jury list, 26 were selected to serve – 23 grand juries and three substitutes. Grand juries specifically focus on investigating a single topic and make recommendations to the district attorney, who then decides whether to seek an indictment from an informed grand jury. usually or not.
Because of the strong public interest in the case, the court arranged for parts of Monday’s selection process to be televised. Now, a special grand jury has been chosen, however, everything that happens will take place in secret.
Judge Robert McBurney of the Fulton County Superior Court, who is tasked with overseeing the special grand jury, told those summoned to the jury panel that they would not hear a trial, but would instead. served on a special investigative grand jury looking at the actions surrounding the 2020 general election.
“Now is the time for 26 members of our community to participate in that investigation,” McBurney said.
Willis has confirmed that her team is reviewing a January 2021 phone call in which Trump pushed Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find” the required vote for him to win the state. She also said that they are looking at a November 2020 phone call between US Senators Lindsey Graham and Raffensperger, sudden resignation of the United States attorney general in Atlanta on January 4, 2021, and remarks made during the December 2020 Georgia legislative committee hearings regarding the election.
It is unclear what charges prosecutors will pursue
It’s unclear exactly what charges Willis might choose to bring against Trump or anyone else. In a letter she sent to senior state officials last year, she said she was looking into “potential violations of Georgia law that prohibits inciting election fraud, making false statements with state and local government agencies, conspiracy, fraud, breach of oath of office and any acts of violence or intimidation in connection with the administration of the election.”
McBurney said the grand juries won’t begin meeting until June and won’t meet weekly. They will be notified in advance of when they need to be there, and there is some space available if they cannot attend every session because only 16 people are needed for the quorum, he said.
McBurney then led 200 potential grand juries under oath to give honest answers about their qualifications.
He explained that jurors must be at least 18 years old, must be U.S. citizens, and must have lived in Fulton County for the past six months. Any person who is an elected official or has been in the last two years, anyone convicted of a felony, or anyone who has served on a Fulton County grand jury or grand jury during the year, McBurney said. past are not qualified to serve, McBurney said.
The investigation concerns actions surrounding the 2020 general election and it is important for grand juries to be “open to the process,” the judge said. Anyone who believes a crime has or didn’t happen, McBurney said, should say they have a conflict when asked.
After identifying other potential conflicts — for example, planning to be abroad for an extended period, having to care for someone after major surgery — McBurney considered the first 100 potential jurors and Ask them privately – only numerically – to say if they have a conflict. A quarter of grand juries said they had conflicts and judges and prosecutors began questioning them individually to determine if they could be exonerated. He then closed the courtroom so he and prosecutors could speak privately with the selectors.
While the district attorney’s office will generally direct the investigation, grand jurors will be able to question witnesses who appear before them. If they believe there are other witnesses they want to hear or documents they want to see, they have the right to subpoena.
