Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis requested Thursday that a special purpose grand jury be impaneled to assist in a case involving former President Donald Trump.
The prosecutor, who is conducting a criminal investigation into whether Trump and his allies broke state law with phone calls about the 2020 election results, argued in a letter to Judge Christopher Brasher of Fulton County’s Superior Court that she needs a special grand jury because key witnesses have refused to cooperate with her investigation.
“The District Attorney’s Office has received information indicating a reasonable probability that the State of Georgia’s administration of elections in 2020, including the State’s election of the President of the United States, was subject to possible criminal disruptions,” she wrote.
GEORGIA STATE OFFICIALS INTERVIEWED IN TRUMP CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION
Willis’s investigation was initiated last February shortly after audio surfaced in January of Trump asking Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find” 11,780 votes, enough to reverse his loss to President Joe Biden in the state. The call took place Jan. 2, 2021, according to the Washington Post.
She requested that the special grand jury begin in May and last no longer than a year. The special grand jury would not have the power to return an indictment but could make recommendations about criminal prosecution if it wants. Its function would be to assist in investigating possible efforts to thwart the 2020 election in Georgia.
Willis mentioned Raffensperger as an example of a key witness who has indicated he will refuse to cooperate unless issued a subpoena. She included a transcript of an interview he did on NBC’s Meet the Press in which he suggested he would comply with a grand jury summons.
Multiple officials have reportedly been interviewed by Willis’s office in this investigation, including at least four officials in the secretary of state’s office. Earlier this month, Willis told the Associated Press that she believed her office’s decision on whether to pursue criminal charges could come within the first half of the year.
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Trump said Thursday he did nothing wrong in his call to Raffensperger. In a statement issued by his Save America PAC, Trump argued that he was simply looking into “massive voter fraud which took place in Georgia.”
“My phone call to the Secretary of State of Georgia was perfect, perhaps even more so than my call with the Ukrainian President, if that’s possible,” Trump said. “What this Civil Special Grand Jury should be looking into is not my perfect phone call, but the large-scale voter fraud that took place in Georgia. Then they would be doing a great job for the people.”
