Trump Investigation Heats Up In Georgia As DA Convenes Grand Jury

Topline

Grand jury selection kicks off Monday in the Fulton County, Georgia, district attorney’s investigation into former President Donald Trump and his attempts to overturn the state’s 2020 election results—a potentially year-long process that could end up with the ex-president facing criminal charges.

President Donald Trump attends a rally on December 05, 2020 in Valdosta, Georgia.

Getty Images

Key Facts

The special grand jury will meet for up to a year to only consider charges related to Fulton County DA Fani Willis’ investigation and whether any Georgia laws were violated.

Willis told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution she wants the grand jury to subpoena 30 people who have declined to testify voluntarily—investigators have already interviewed more than 50 witnesses—and prosecutors will approach approximately another 60 people on top of that.

Witnesses won’t start being interviewed until after Georgia’s May 24 primary, Willis said, and legal experts wrote in a New York Times op-ed it’s likely the jury will start with less controversial witnesses before calling major figures like Trump, who could try to fight the subpoenas in court.

A special grand jury, unlike regular ones, can’t actually bring charges directly, but will issue a report that could recommend an indictment, and Willis would then have to ask a regular grand jury to issue one.

If the grand jury finds evidence of wrongdoing, Trump could face such criminal charges as conspiracy to commit election fraud, criminal solicitation, intentional interference with performance of election duties or violations of state racketeering laws, legal experts noted in an analysis for the Brookings Institution.

What To Watch For

Whether Trump will face any punishment. The Brookings analysis concluded the ex-president faces “substantial risk of possible state charges predicated on multiple crimes,” noting Trump’s efforts to overturn the results “were well outside the scope of his responsibilities” as president and predicting his legal arguments would likely be “meritless.” Other legal experts have expressed significant doubt that Trump will face consequences as even if he’s indicted it still remains unclear whether a court would convict him.

Chief Critic

Trump has heavily protested Willis’ investigation, calling it and other probes into his post-election activities “prosecutorial misconduct” at a January rally. “If these radical, vicious, racist prosecutors do anything wrong or illegal, I hope we are going to have in this country the biggest protests we have ever had in Washington, D.C., in New York, in Atlanta and elsewhere because our country and our elections are corrupt,” Trump told supporters, which the Journal Constitution reports resulted in Willis asking the FBI to provide additional security protection for her office.

Key Background

Willis opened her investigation into Trump’s post-election activities in Georgia in February 2021, and told the Journal Constitution she has spent the ensuing months interviewing witnesses and gathering evidence. A court approved her request to convene a grand jury in January. The DA’s investigation will include Trump’s January 2021 phone call with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, in which Trump asked the official to “find” enough votes for him to win the state. The probe is also looking into such post-election incidents as Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) asking Raffensperger to reject some absentee ballots in a separate November 2020 phone call, and former U.S. attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak resigning in January 2021 amid Trump’s post-election efforts.

Tangent

Willis’ grand jury is being convened as a separate grand jury looking into the ex-president and potential financial wrongdoing at the Trump Organization expired in New York City last week without bringing any charges. That investigation, which is being led by Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg, is still continuing, Bragg has said, but the New York Times reports work on the probe seems to have dropped off, making it appear unlikely any charges will eventually be brought.

Trump Investigation Heats Up In Georgia As DA Convenes Grand Jury—Here’s What Happens Next