The Georgia grand jury concludes its investigation of former United States President Donald Trump and his alleged involvement in trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election and could bring criminal charges against the Republican businessman.
On Monday, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney, who was the one that oversaw the panel, issued a two-page order dissolving the special grand jury. He said that the panel has completed its work and submitted a final report on the matter.
Georgia Grand Jury
The lengthy investigation was only one of many probes across the country that targeted the former president that threatened his third bid for the White House. Now, the decision of whether or not to seek an indictment from a regular grand jury will be the decision of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.
Willis' spokesperson, Jeff DiSantis said that the office had no comment on the completion of the grand jury's investigation. In his order, McBurney wrote that the panel recommended that its report be made public and he has scheduled a hearing for Jan. 24 to determine whether all or only parts of the report should be released, as per the Associated Press.
The special grand jury has, since June last year, heard testimonies from dozens of witnesses, which includes numerous close Trump associates, such as the former New York mayor and Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani and Sen. Lindsey Graham. The list of witnesses also included Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.
The House Select Committee responsible for investigating the events of the Capitol Hill riot asserted in its final report last month that the former president criminally engaged in a "multi-part conspiracy" to overturn the lawful results of the 2020 presidential race.
The panel added that Trump failed to act to stop his loyal supporters from storming the Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021. The report concluded a lengthy 18-month investigation into the Republican businessman and the violent attack and how they were connected.
Trump's Election Interference
According to CNN, while special grand juries in Georgia do not have the authority to issue indictments, they can use the final report to recommend that Willis pursue indictments in her election interference investigation.
The situation comes as Willis has already spent more than a year digging into the former president and his associates. She began the probe in early 2021, shortly after a January call became public where Trump pressured Raffensperger to "find" the votes that he needed to win the Peace State in the presidential election.
Since then, Willis' investigation has expanded its initial cause and now includes false claims of election fraud to state lawmakers, the fake elector scheme, efforts by unauthorized individuals to access voting machines, and threats and harassment against election workers.
Due to grand jury terms lasting only two months, defendants who are indicted can request speed trials that start by the close of the term that follows the two-month period in which they are indicted. This means that most charges would most likely be brought at the beginning of the next grand jury term that comes in early March or even later, the New York Times reported.