Atlanta (AP) — When a grand jury candidate appears at the Atlanta Courthouse on Monday, they find a TV camera in the room and the street is closed outside — Research Whether former President Donald Trump and others tried to illegally pressure Georgian authorities to overturn the victory of the presidential election in Joe Biden’s state.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis said Request a special grand jury For research, and the panel selection begins on Monday.
A grand jury seat is a routine process that has little interest to the general public, even in rare special grand juries. However, the desire for news about the case has led the court to create accommodation for the public to broadcast at least part of the grand jury’s selection. There is a camera in the room, but it cannot show grand jury candidates.
An investigation into attempts that could affect the 2020 general election in Georgia began early last year. Willis requested the Supreme Court Justice of the County High Court to appoint a special grand jury in January. She wrote in her letter that her office had information indicating the “reasonable potential” of the “potential criminal turmoil” for running the election.
The presiding judge’s order is Special grand jury I will be seated for up to one year from Monday. Unlike a regular grand jury, which can hear many different cases and issue indictments, a special grand jury focuses on a single topic investigation and produces a report on the results. The district attorney then decides whether to seek prosecution from a regular grand jury.
Former Guinette District Attorney Danny Porter, who convened a special grand jury about 15 years ago, said the process of seating a special grand jury is almost the same as the process of seating a regular grand jury. It consists of 16 to 23 people summoned from the county’s Master Jury list.
The judge confirms that a potential grand jury is qualified — over 18 years old, a resident of Fulton County, not convicted of a felony — and exempted for some reason. Listen to the people you want.
Unlike jury selection, which has two sets of lawyers trying to find prejudice and prejudice, there is no defense lawyer because no one has been charged in this process yet. Anyone who pays attention should not expect to hear a potential grand jury being extensively questioned about their political trends and opinions about Trump.
“There is no prejudice or excuse for prejudice,” Porter said. “In this case, if someone came in with a MAGA hat, they would probably forgive them. However, research into their prejudices and prejudices is very limited when choosing a grand jury. I am. “
When a special grand jury is seated, the camera needs to leave — all grand jury procedures are secret. However, Willis wrote to her presiding judge that one of the reasons she wanted a special grand jury was to issue a subpoena to witnesses who refused to cooperate without a subpoena. Shown in.
Willis confirmed that her team is investigating January 2021 phone Trump urged Georgia Secretary of State Brad Rafenceparger to “find” the votes needed to win the state.She also said they were watching November 2020 phone Between Senator Lindsey Graham and Rafence Purger, Sudden resignation Comments from a US lawyer in Atlanta on January 4, 2021 and at a hearing on the December 2020 Georgia Legislative Committee elections.
A Trump spokesman previously dismissed the investigation as a politically motivated “witch hunt.” Graham also denied cheating.
In another study in New York, Trump Attractive decision He executed a subpoena for his testimony and submitted a document in a civil investigation that the State Attorney’s Office revealed evidence that he may have misunderstood the value of skyscrapers and other assets for over a decade. He is charged with contempt of court for not doing so.
Trump’s lawyer claims that Attorney General Letitia James can use civil investigations to gather information and use it against the former president in a parallel criminal investigation supervised by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. James and Bragg are both Democrats.
Bragg said criminal investigations are continuing, despite the swaying leadership of investigators. So far, only tax evasion costs related to the fringe benefits to the Trump Organization and its longtime chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, have been incurred. Both claim innocence.
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New York Associated Press writer Michael R. Sisak contributed to the report.