Kemp may avoid short-term political fallout from delayed testimony
Kemp avoids special grand jury testimony until after election
Gov. Brian Kemp must testify before the Fulton County special grand jury in its investigation of former-President Donald Trump and others. The probe is seeking to uncover if any criminal attempt to overturn the 2020 election occurred. However, Kemp will not have to testify until after the November election.
ATLANTA - A Fulton County judge ruled on Monday Gov. Brian Kemp must testify before a special grand jury in District Attorney Fani Willis’s investigation into then-president Trump’s possible criminal attempt to overturn the 2020 election. But the governor can do it after the November 2022 election to avoid influencing the current campaign.
"That was what Gov. Kemp was fighting for, to take politics out of it." Said Brian Robinson, a Republican strategist and president of Robinson Republic "The ruling today will take this out the news moving forward."
Right now Kemp and Democratic challenger Stacy Abrams are locked in close race for the governor’s office. "I don’t think it impacts Brian Kemp politically at all," Robinson said. "There’s a very unified Republican Party behind Brian Kemp.
"The governor won’t have to worry about preparing for testimony, wasting precious time on the campaign trail when he needs to be talking to voters and raising money."
Page Pate, a criminal defense attorney, said while Kemp will face no legal ramifications, the governor could face backlash from staunch Trump supporters. "Almost certainly there will be political ramifications as a result of his testimony," pate said. "Perhaps now, just the fact he’s going to have to testify, could get some of the trump supporters who also might back him in the general election, talking about this issue."
The mere idea Kemp would testify, thus cooperate with the Fulton County DA’s investigation, could remind Trump’s base that Gov. Kemp refused to go along with then-President Trump’s attempt to overturn the 2020 election. "If he is re-elected it could affect his agenda in the legislature. It could affect the kind of support he’s able to give other candidates," Pate said.