Georgia Grand Jury Forewoman Says Panel Recommended Multiple Indictments in Trump Election Probe

Georgia Grand Jury Forewoman Says Panel Recommended Multiple Indictments in Trump Election Probe
President Donald Trump attends a rally in support of Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.) and Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.) in Valdosta, Georgia, on Dec. 5, 2020. Spencer Platt/Getty Images
Katabella Roberts
Updated:
0:00

A special grand jury that investigated whether former President Donald Trump and his allies violated Georgia laws when they challenged the 2020 presidential election results will recommend multiple indictments, according to the forewoman of the special grand jury.

The forewoman, 30-year-old Fulton County resident Emily Kohrs, told The New York Times that jurors recommended a prosecutor charge multiple people with a range of crimes but stopped short of specifying exactly whom the jury recommended face charges or the nature of the charges.

“It is not a short list,” she told the New York Times.

When asked if the jurors had recommended indicting Trump, Kohrs declined to answer, instead stating: “You’re not going to be shocked. It’s not rocket science.”

“It is not going to be some giant plot twist,” she added. “You probably have a fair idea of what may be in there. I’m trying very hard to say that delicately.”

Parts of the grand jury’s report (pdf) were released last week on the orders of Judge Robert McBurney of the Georgia 5th Superior Court District Atlanta Circuit.
They revealed that the grand jury, which consisted of 23 individuals plus three alternates, held “a unanimous vote that no widespread fraud took place in the Georgia 2020 presidential election that could result in overturning that election.”

 ‘Perjury May Have Been Committed’

The report also said, “A majority of the Grand Jury believes that perjury may have been committed by one or more witnesses testifying before it.”

The names of the people suspected of making false statements under oath were not identified and the counts recommended in the grand jury’s final report remain sealed by judicial order.

After portions of the report were published, Trump posted on Truth Social that “The long awaited important sections of the Georgia report, which do not even mention President Trump’s name, have nothing to do with the President because President Trump did absolutely nothing wrong.”

“The President participated in two perfect phone calls regarding election integrity in Georgia, which he is entitled to do – in fact, as President, it was President Trump’s Constitutional duty to ensure election safety, security, and integrity,” Trump wrote.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, a Democrat, convened the jury and tasked them with probing whether Donald Trump and his allies tried to disrupt the lawful administration of Georgia’s 2020 presidential election following a leaked phone call in which then-President Trump suggested Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger could “find” votes to overturn the state’s election results.

During the 2021 phone call, Trump asked Raffensperger to probe potential voter fraud in Georgia and said he wanted to “find” over 11,000 votes to win the state but Raffensperger declined, noting the state did several re-tallies of the vote count.

Trump Defends ‘Perfect’ Phone Call

Trump has said the phone conversation between himself and Raffensperger was “absolutely perfect” and that “many lawyers and other officials who were knowingly on the line” during his call had ”no problems with the call, and didn’t voice any objections or complaints about anything that I said on the call which could be construed as inappropriate.”

Willis is yet to announce whether she will indict people in the probe and the grand jury, under Georgia law. However, she only has the power to issue recommendations and not actual indictments.

A number of Trump allies including Rudy Giuliani, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, and former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn have testified to the panel.

Kohrs was first identified as the jury’s forewoman by The Associated Press, which said it found her after her name was included on subpoenas obtained through open records requests.

Kohrs told the publication that she did not vote in the 2020 election and was “only vaguely aware” of much of the controversy surrounding the elections, including claims of widespread fraud.

According to the publication, she declined to talk about unpublished portions of the panel’s final report and had been advised by Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney on what she, as well as other jurors, can and cannot talk about publicly regarding the probe.

She added that the grand jury never heard from Trump directly.

“Trump was not a battle we picked to fight,” Kohrs told the publication, adding, “I fully stand by our report as our decision and our conclusion.”

Related Topics