Judge to release parts of Georgia special grand jury report

February 13th, 2023

Former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign event at the South Carolina Statehouse, Saturday, Jan. 28, 2023, in Columbia, S.C. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

This story was updated at 11:56 a.m.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney has ordered the release of parts of a special grand jury report investigating efforts by former President Trump and his allies to interfere with Georgia’s 2020 election result.

The three sections ordered for release are slated to be made public on Thursday. Those sections will not include any recommendations of the special grand jury, which had the authority to suggest criminal charges. They will only include the final report’s introduction, conclusion and a section in which the jurors lay out concerns that some witnesses may have lied under oath in their testimony.

Over eight months, the special grand jury heard from 75 witnesses, including many of Trump’s closest allies and a handful of Georgia’s most powerful officials. The investigation stemmed from the now infamous phone call from then-President Donald Trump to Georgia’s Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, asking to “find” 11,780 votes for him.

The special grand jury, which disbanded in January, cannot issue their own indictments. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis would need to ask a regular grand jury to bring any criminal charges, should she decide to pursue them.

In his order, McBurney rules that while the special grand jury stayed within their scope and carried out their investigation by the book, a special grand jury by nature is a “one-sided investigation,” driven by the district attorney. Any potential targets do not have the same due process they would have during a trial.

“The consequence of these due process deficiencies is not that the special purpose grand jury’s final report is forever suppressed or that its recommendations for or against indictment are in any way flawed or suspect,” McBurney wrote. “Rather, the consequence is that those recommendations are for the District Attorney’s eyes only – for now. Fundamental fairness requires this.”