Grand jury selection to start in Trump election probe
When potential ATLANTA — grand jurors show up at an Atlanta courthouse today, they’ll find a television camera in the room and streets closed outside nods to the
— intense public interest in the investigation into whether former President Donald Trump and others illegally tried to pressure Georgia officials to overturn Joe Biden’s presidential election victory in the state.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has taken the unusual step of requesting a special grand jury for the investigation, and the selection of that panel begins today.
The seating of a grand jury — even a rare special grand jury — is a routine process that’s generally of little interest. But the appetite for any news about this case has prompted the court to make accommodations for at least parts of the grand jury selection to be broadcast to the public. Although there will be cameras in the room, they won’t be allowed to show potential grand jurors.
The investigation into potential attempts to influence the 2020 general election in Georgia began early last year. Willis asked the chief judge of the county superior court in January to impanel a special grand jury. She wrote in a letter that her office had information indicating a “reasonable probability” of “possible criminal disruptions” to the administration of that election.
The chief judge’s order says the special grand jury is to be seated for a period of up to a year, beginning today. Unlike a regular grand jury, which hears many different cases and can issue indictments, a special grand jury focuses on investigating a single topic and produces a report on its findings. The district attorney then decides whether to seek an indictment from a regular grand jury.
Former Gwinnett County
District Attorney Danny Porter, who convened a special grand jury roughly 15 years ago, said the process for seating a special grand jury is pretty much the same as seating a regular grand jury. It’s made up of between 16 and 23 people from the county master jury list.
The judge will make sure the potential grand jurors are qualified — over 18, residents of Fulton County who haven’t been convicted of a felony — and then will hear from people who want to be excused.
Unlike jury selection for a trial, there’s no defense attorney in this process because no one has been charged yet. Anyone who tunes in to watch shouldn’t expect to hear potential grand jurors questioned extensively about their political leanings or their opinions on Trump.
“There’s no excuses for bias or prejudice,” Porter said. “In this case, I would suspect if somebody came in wearing a MAGA hat, they would probably excuse them. But the inquiry into their prejudices or biases is very, very limited in selecting a grand jury.”