A Georgia judge on Monday ruled that portions of a Fulton County grand jury’s report into possible interference in the 2020 election by former President Donald Trump and his allies be made public later this week.
In an eight-page ruling, Judge Robert McBurney ruled the report’s introduction, conclusion and section VIII, in which jurors express concern that some witnesses may have lied under oath, can be made public. Those witnesses are not identified, the judge said.
The special purpose grand jury was convened by the Fulton County district attorney’s office for an investigation into “‘the facts and circumstances relating directly or indirectly to possible attempts to disrupt the lawful administration of the 2020 elections in the State of Georgia’ and to prepare a report on whether anyone should be prosecuted for such potential crimes.”
The grand jury submitted its findings in a report to Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis last month. Willis will decide whether to present evidence to a grand jury for criminal indictments.
In his ruling Monday, McBurney said the report includes recommendations for “who should (or should not) be indicted, and for what” but that those parts would remain sealed for now.
A group of news organizations had petitioned the judge to make the report public, and the judge agreed with some of their reasoning.
“[W]hile publication may not be convenient for the pacing of the District Attorney’s investigation, the compelling public interest in these proceedings and the unquestionable value and importance of transparency require their release,” the judge wrote.
He said he timed the release for Thursday so the parties involved could make redactions, if necessary.
McBurney said the rest of the report should not be released “until such time as the District Attorney completes her investigation.”
The DA’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Willis called for the special grand jury last year because the panel had the power to issue subpoenas to force witnesses to testify.
Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and a number of people who acted as “alternate electors” to those who were duly elected in the state were among those questioned.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who’d been pressured by Trump and his allies to alter the outcome of the 2020 election, also testified.
Among the incidents that the grand jury probed was Trump’s Jan. 2, 2021, phone call with Raffensperger in which he urged the state’s top election official to overturn Joe Biden’s win. “All I want to do is this. I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have. Because we won the state,” Trump said in the call.
Trump has denied any wrongdoing, and called the probe a “witch hunt.”
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
