Trump news today: Judge could make Georgia grand jury report public in Trump
Trump says there were no documents found at Mar-a-Lago, just ‘cool’ empty folders marked classified
A judge in Georgia is hearing arguments over the public release of a grand jury report following an eight-month probe into Donald Trump’s allleged attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election in that state.
The panel heard testimony and evidence about the abuse and harassment of election workers, a fake elector scheme, and Mr Trump’s infamous phone call to election officials to “find” enough votes for his victory.
The report from the special grand jury, which is barred from issuing indictments, likely includes a summary of its investigative work and recommendations for indictments for alleged misconduct that prompted the investigation and its conclusions.
Attorneys for the former president have claimed that they were never involved with the probe.
“The grand jury compelled the testimony of dozens of other, often high-ranking, officials during the investigation, but never found it important to speak with the President,” attorneys said in a statement on Monday. “Therefore, we can assume that the grand jury did their job and looked at the facts and the law, as we have, and concluded there were no violations of the law by President Trump.”
Full story: Fulton County DA Fani Willis asks judge to keep grand jury report on Trump’s election scheme secret for now
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has asked that a special grand jury report on efforts by Donald Trump and his allies to reverse his 2020 election loss to Joe Biden be kept under seal because she is still considering whether to ask for criminal charges against people involved in the schemes.
Alex Woodward24 January 2023 18:15
Attorney for media groups argues for grand jury’s public report
An attorney representing a coalition of media groups seeking the public release of the grand jury’s report has argued for its released “now” and “in its entirety”.
“It is not unusual for the [district attorney] and for a prosecuting authority to release information during the progress of its case,” he added, referencing Fulton County prosecutor Fani Willis’s argument to keep the report secret for now.
Alex Woodward24 January 2023 18:02
A decision on the grand jury’s report won’t be released today. Members voted to release it. Why the DA wants to keep it private
Judge McBurney noted that a decision on the public release of a grand jury report on Trump’s actions to influence the outcome of the 2020 election in Georgia won’t be released today. Members of the panel, however, wanted it to be publicly released.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis said she does not want the report released publicly, yet, as she suggested that multiple people involved in the report will be defendants in her office’s upcoming prosecutions.
“Decisions are imminent,” she told the judge.
Her deputy, Donald Wakeford, argued that the report should be viewed as part of an…
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