A Georgia judge Monday ordered a partial public release of a grand jury’s investigative report on former President Donald Trump’s attempts to interfere in the 2020 election.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney said three portions of the panel’s report will be released Thursday, including a section expressing concerns that some witnesses may have lied under oath, although the names of those witnesses will not be made public.
McBurney also ordered the release of the grand jury’s conclusions as part of a ruling that represented a partial concession to District Attorney Fani Willis who argued last month that disclosure of the panel’s findings would damage an ongoing investigation.
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Judge: Grand jury provided roster of who should or should not be indicted
While the judge rejected arguments from a media consortium, which called for immediate and full disclosure of the report as a “court record,” he also noted the “compelling public interest in the proceedings and the unquestionable value and importance of transparency” as prompting the partial release.
“Indeed it (the grand jury) provided the district attorney with exactly what she requested: a roster of who should (or should not) be indicted and for what in relation to the conduct (and aftermath) of the 2020 general election in Georgia,” McBurney wrote, adding that the panel had done its work “by the book.”
The district attorney agreed with the ruling.
“I believe Judge McBurney’s order is legally sound and consistent with my request. I have no plans to appeal today’s order,” Wills said Monday.
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DA Willis said last month that charging decisions were ‘imminent’
At last month’s hearing, Willis acknowledged the intense public interest in the inquiry but requested the report remain sealed to protect “future defendants’ rights.”
At that time, Willis told the judge that decisions on possible charges were “imminent.”
During that January hearing, prosecutors signaled that the grand jury’s findings were so sensitive that they should not be disclosed while the investigation is ongoing.
Fulton County prosecutor Donald Wakeford said there had been “no opportunity” to assess how the grand jury’s findings could assist prosecutors in deciding whether criminal charges should be brought since the report was delivered two weeks ago.
“It’s dangerous,” Wakeford argued.
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Media organizations want the whole report released
Prosecutors strongly opposed efforts by a consortium of media organizations, citing an “extraordinary” public interest in the inquiry that has featured testimony from 75 witnesses, including some of Trump’s closest former aides and advisers.
Thomas Clyde, an attorney representing the media group, including USA TODAY, argued that “public faith” in the court system is at stake in the document’s prompt disclosure, asserting that prosecutors had not made the case for continuing secrecy.
“We believe the report should be released now and in its entirety,” Clyde told McBurney. “There hasn’t been any suggestion, evidence, or demonstration that there should be a sealing in this case.”
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Trump urging GA secretary of state to ‘find’ votes in phone call prompted investigation
Willis launched the inquiry shortly after Trump’s Jan. 2, 2021, conversation with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, in which the former president urged Georgia’s top election official to “find 11,780 votes” to tilt the 2020 statewide election in his favor.
The inquiry subsequently expanded to include a wide-ranging examination of election fraud.
Willis has said authorities also have been investigating possible conspiracy, oath of office violations, racketeering and election-related violence.
Rudy Giuliani, Sen. Lindsey Graham, Newt Gingrich are among the 75 witnesses
Some of Trump’s most senior advisers, including personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and former House speaker Newt Gingrich, have been among the 75 witnesses to be summoned before the special grand jury.
As part of the inquiry, prosecutors have been examining the submission of an alternate slate of electors by Republicans in Georgia, one of seven states in which officials allegedly sought to reverse Trump’s defeat.
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