Topline
The special grand jury investigating former President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election in Fulton County, Georgia, has recommended indictments for multiple people, the jury’s forewoman told the New York Times Tuesday, as more information emerges around the years-long probe into Trump’s efforts around the 2020 election.
District Attorney Fani Willis could announce charges against those involved in the coming weeks.
Key Facts
Jury forewoman Emily Kohrs said in an interview the list of people facing indictments is “not a short list,” although she did not provide any names.
When asked if that list included Trump—who launched his 2024 presidential bid late last year—she responded: “You’re not going to be shocked” and that the answer is “not rocket science.”
Though the jury itself does not have the ability to charge anyone, District Attorney Fani Willis is expected to bring charges, after presenting the case to a grand jury and telling Judge Robert McBurney late last month “decisions are imminent.”
Kohrs’ comments come one week after the release of some sections of the special grand jury’s report, in which the jury recommended some witnesses should be indicted for perjury, though no specific targets of indictments were named.
Tangent
Willis had previously suggested multiple people could face indictments for their parts in an effort to overturn the results of the 2020 election. The report released last week resulted from the order of a state judge, who said the rest of the jury’s report should remain private until the conclusion of the investigation. That report also disclosed the grand jury has found no evidence of voter fraud in the 2020 election, which Trump had claimed without proof after losing the election to President Joe Biden.
What We Don’t Know
Who will be indicted as a result of Willis’ investigation, which has been ongoing since February 2021. Last summer, Trump’s attorney Rudy Giuliani, as well a group of 16 Georgia Republican officials who falsely claimed to be presidential electors after signing false certificates, have been informed they are potential targets of the probe.
Surprising Fact
Trump took to his social media platform Truth Social after a portion of the grand jury’s report was released last week, praising the jurors and claiming their recommendation indicated a “total exoneration” of him, even though parts of the report remain unreleased—and the redacted portions could still include a recommendation to indict Trump. Legal experts who spoke to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, on the other hand, think the grand jury probably did recommend indicting Trump, claiming McBurney had suggested the recommendations included a person who did not testify, which Trump did not do.
Further Reading
Jury in Georgia Trump Inquiry Recommended Multiple Indictments, Forewoman Says (New York Times)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianbushard/2023/02/21/georgia-trump-probe-grand-jury-reportedly-recommends-multiple-indictments/