US: Judge to release parts of Georgia special grand jury's report on 2020 election interference

A judge in Georgia ruled that parts of the special grand jury’s report on potential election interference by former President Donald Trump should be made public. Despite the ruling to publicize some parts of the report, recommendations on potential criminal charges would remain sealed.

On Monday, Fulton County District Judge Robert McBurney said that three parts of the special grand jury’s report would be publicized on Thursday. The three parts that would be released would be the introduction, the conclusion, and part of which the grand jury “discusses its concern that some witnesses may have lied under oath.” The judge added that the report includes a list of people who should face criminal charges, “and for what, in relation to the conduct (and aftermath) of the 2020 general election in Georgia.”

The judge ruled that the conclusions would remain sealed for now, citing the due process rights of witnesses or potential defendants who were not given a full chance to respond to the allegations during the grand jury process. The concerns were especially serious for the individuals who did not appear before the grand jury, according to the judge.

McBurney said he was delaying the parts of the report that would be publicized until Thursday to give prosecutors time to discuss whether any further redactions needed to be made.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis will ultimately decide whether to press criminal charges. Last month, Willis told McBurney that charging decisions were “imminent” and requested that the report remain sealed to make sure future defendants cannot cry foul. Willis’s probe could potentially make Trump the first former president to face criminal prosecution months after launching another bid for the presidency in 2024.

Willis launched her investigation on January 2021, shortly after the phone call between Trump and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, when the now-former president urged Raffensperger to “find” enough votes to overturn his loss in the state.

The former president is also under investigation by Special Counsel Jack Smith over the recovery of classified documents in his Florida residence and his efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Trump’s vice president, Mike Pence, and former national security adviser Robert O’Brien were subpoenaed by Smith last week, according to media reports.

The subpoena of Pence follows months of negotiations between Pence’s lawyers and federal prosecutors. O’Brien has been asserting executive privilege in his declining to provide some of the information that prosecutors are seeking.