Expand / Collapse search
☰

Fulton County special grand jury hands over its findings in Georgia’s 2020 election probe

By
Published  January 9, 2023 11:00pm EST
Fulton County
FOX 5 Atlanta

Special grand jury completes report on investigation of Trump

Georgia State University law professor Anthony Kreis speaks to FOX 5 about the significance of this update.

FULTON COUNTY, Ga. - After months of gathering evidence and hearing testimony from some of Washington’s biggest players, a special grand jury has completed its report on the investigation into potential criminal interference in Georgia’s 2020 presidential election by former president Donald Trump.

This comes about eight months after the group of citizens, commissioned by Fulton County DA Fani Willis, started its investigation. The report now goes to the DA’s office for Willis for review. It could lead to criminal charges being filed against the former president and his allies. 

"What we do know is that this is entirely in the hands of the district attorney’s office," Georgia State Law professor Anthony Kreis said Monday. 

Willis’s investigation initially focused on a January 2021 phone call between then-president Trump and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who was asked to "find" enough votes to overturn the state’s election results.

Kreis told FOX 5 the findings inside the special grand jury report will likely determine what happens next. 

"The special purpose grand jury’s report may or may not include recommendations for prosecution or may or may not offer advice for what the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office should do," he explained. 

The special grand jury, itself, cannot issue indictments, but a regular grand jury has that ability. Kreis said the DA’s office could have already started that process.  

"If she does pursue charges they really need to be above reproach."

While former President Trump has launched his bid to return to the White House in 2024 and Willis is also up for re-election, the Georgia law professor said it’s in the DA’s best interest to act quickly. 

"It’s really in the interest of justice and the public’s best interest in securing elections to know what happened, to have the case laid out, and to have the process underway well before the 2024 election cycle," Kreis added.

Kreis said the biggest question now is whether that report will be made public. A Fulton County Judge has scheduled a hearing for Jan. 24 at noon to decide that.