July 12, 2023
A group of Georgians selected on Tuesday, July 11, to be grand jurors may soon consider charges against former President Donald Trump and allies who sought to overturn the state’s 2020 presidential election results, which he lost, reports CBS News.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has indicated in letters to county officials that potential indictments in the case could come between July 31 and August 18.
The investigation began shortly after a recorded January 2, 2021, phone call between Trump and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger was made public. In the call, Trump told Raffensperger, “I just want to find 11,780 votes”—the number he would have needed to overtake Joe Biden.
The investigation ultimately developed into a sprawling probe of efforts to sway the election for Trump in the months after Biden’s win.
Over the course of six months in 2022, a special purpose grand jury—which had the power to issue subpoenas and produce a final report with indictment recommendations—interviewed 75 witnesses. In media interviews after the report was delivered to Willis’ office, the special purpose grand jury’s foreperson indicated multiple indictments were recommended.
The special purpose grand jury did not call Trump, but it did interview his allies, including his former attorney Rudy Giuliani, Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carlina), former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows; and political critics such as Raffensperger and Georgia Governor Brian Kemp.
In an interview with CBS News on February 26, attorneys for Trump criticized the investigation.”We absolutely do not believe that our client did anything wrong, and if any indictments were to come down, those are faulty indictments. We will absolutely fight anything tooth and nail,” said attorney Jennifer Little.
It’s a pair of accusations he also levied against Manhattan’s first Black district attorney, Democrat Alvin Bragg. In April, Trump entered a not guilty plea to 34 counts of felony falsification of business records brought by Bragg’s office in connection with a “hush money” payment made to an adult film star days before the 2016 presidential election, which Trump won.
That case made Trump the first former president in U.S. history to be charged with crimes.
Trump also entered a not guilty plea last month to 37 federal felony counts related to alleged “willful retention” of top secret documents. He has accused the lead prosecutor in that case, Special Counsel Jack Smith, of political bias.
That case is currently scheduled for trial on August 14, but on Monday evening, July 10, Trump’s attorneys filed a motion for an indeterminate delay. They indicated they believe the trial should be held after the 2024 election. They also cited Trump’s busy legal schedule.
Research contact: @CBSNews
