A Georgia judge said Tuesday he would not make any «rash decisions» about whether to release a special grand jury report into his investigation into whether then-President Donald Trump and his allies attempted to illegally interfere with the 2020 election results.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney said he would rule at a later date and would reach out with any questions about the points raised by the Fulton County District Attorney’s office and news organizations about the report. of the grand jury, which is expected to include recommendations on possible criminal offenses. prosecution.
District Attorney Fani Willis argued that the release of the report could violate the rights of potential defendants and could negatively affect the ability to prosecute those who may be accused of crimes. She said the special grand jury heard a total of 75 witnesses during the course of the investigation.
“We want to make sure that everyone is treated fairly and we believe that in order for future defendants to be treated fairly, it is not appropriate at this time for this report to be released,” Willis said.
If McBurney ultimately decides to release the recently completed report, as the special grand jury urged, it must also determine whether any part of it should be redacted.
A coalition of news organizations, including the Associated Press, argued in favor of publishing the report in its entirety, saying in a filing Monday that the document «is a court record subject to a presumption of disclosure» under court rules. state and state and federal laws. constitutions The media group said public interest in the report is «extraordinary» and that «there is not enough countervailing interest to overcome the presumption.»
Meanwhile, attorneys representing Trump in the investigation told NBC News they would not participate in Tuesday’s hearing, saying Trump had never been subpoenaed or asked to voluntarily testify before the grand jury.
In their statement, Trump’s lawyers do not mention any intention to fight the release of the report. «Therefore, we can assume that the grand jury did its job and analyzed the facts and the law, as we have, and concluded that President Trump did not violate the law,» they said.
Prosecutors argued in court Tuesday that a discussion about whether to publish the report should occur after the district attorney’s office has decided whether to press charges. The district attorney’s office is not opposed to the eventual release of the report, said prosecutor Donald Wakeford, but «is opposed at this time.»
The original order granting Willis’s request for a special grand jury authorized the panel to «make recommendations regarding criminal prosecution as it deems appropriate.» But it’s unclear how specific those recommendations will be. The special grand jury did not have the power to issue indictments, and it will ultimately be up to Willis to decide whether he seeks indictments from a regular grand jury.
A grand jury handbook produced by the Georgia Board of Prosecutors says courts have repeatedly held that a grand jury «may not include, in a general report or presentation, comments that accuse or accuse identifiable individuals of misconduct.» That can only be done in a charging document, such as an indictment, the manual says.
Willis convened the special grand jury last year because he has the authority to issue subpoenas for witnesses to testify. The panel has heard testimony from several figures in Trump’s inner circle, including attorney Rudy Giuliani and Sen. Lindsey Graham, RS.C. Top Georgia officials including Gov. Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, both Republicans whom Trump and his allies tried to pressure to overturn the 2020 election results, also testified.
Willis opened the investigation in early 2021 after a recording surfaced of a January phone call between Trump and Raffensperger. The then-president pressured Raffensperger to «find» the votes needed to overturn Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election.
“All I want to do is this. I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have. Because we won the state,» Trump said on the call.
In a post on his social media platform, Trump on Tuesday repeated his repeated claim that the call was «PERFECT, nothing was done or said wrong.»
dareh gregorian Y Alexander Blayne contributed.