Attorneys close to many Republican witnesses Fulton County Inquest Former President Donald Trump and his allies are preparing to overturn possible charges against District Attorney Fannie Willis in post-election meddling.
According to two people familiar with the discussions who spoke to CBS News, their effort to do so is based on recent public statements by special-purpose grand jury forewoman Emily Kors.
A special-purpose grand jury functioned as an investigative body that could recommend charges but not indict. Willis is now deciding whether to pursue indictments and open a “regular” criminal grand jury to look for potential charges against Trump or others based on the special grand jury’s recommendations, compiled in a report following its work.
She has not yet decided whether to pursue charges, and has said only that a decision on how to proceed is “immediate.”
If he goes ahead with the charges, several witnesses’ lawyers are preparing to dismiss the indictments based on the predecessor’s comments.
CBS News legal analyst Ricky Kleiman said Gohrs’ comment was inappropriate, but he believes it won’t make a difference legally because Willis will make his own decision.
Gohrs is prohibited from sharing any information from the special grand jury’s deliberations and does not appear to have done so, Kleiman observed. However, some legal concerns could arise if she or other grand jurors reveal any of the deliberations.
The panel recommended more than a dozen charges at the end of its investigation into post-election meddling by former President Donald Trump and his associates, though he declined to say whether he had recommended charges against Trump in multiple interviews with news outlets. .
The grand jury’s report, turned over to Fulton County District Attorney Fannie Willis, recommended indictments on various charges, he said. Seven of the report’s eight sections are sealed — Feb. On the 16th, the judge ordered the release of the introduction, conclusion and eighth part of the report, in which the grand jurors recommended that Willis’ office consider false charges against one or more of the 75 witnesses. This was asked last year.
Corse declined to name anyone the grand jury recommended for indictment. I asked By The New York Times Corse responded, “You’re not going to be shocked. It’s not rocket science.”
He said the grand jury decided not to interview Trump, even though Trump’s name was brought up often.
“I’ll tell you it’s a process we’ve heard his name a lot,” Kors said said on CNN tuesday “We’ve certainly heard a lot about former President Trump, and we’ve certainly discussed him a lot in the room. As this list comes out, I’d say you won’t — there’s no big plot twists waiting for you.”
Despite the focus on Trump, Gohrs told the Associated Press The grand jury decided there was no need to call him as a witness.
“Trump is not the war we chose to fight,” Kors said.
In an interview with The Associated Press, Kors said he found the former Dominion Voting Systems executive’s testimony about how voting machines work fascinating.
The grand jury heard testimony in early May 2022, from June 1 through December. In the preface of its report, the committee found that there was no “widespread fraud” that could have swayed the presidential election.
Willis’ office has indicated in court filings that others, including 16 Georgia Republicans who participated in the investigation, are facing investigation. Alternate Voter Scheme and former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani.
Gohrs told The Associated Press that Giuliani was privileged and did not answer many questions.
