Media demand Ga. grand jury report on elex

Ten news outlets appealed Friday for Georgia’s top court to release a grand jury report containing recommendations on whether former President Donald Trump should be charged over his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

The grand jury is said to have advised charges against multiple people, but it has not been disclosed whether the former president is among them.

The news outlets’ appeal to the Georgia Supreme Court said that a decision by a superior court in Fulton County, Ga., sealing most of the grand jury’s report deprived the public of valuable information and was premised on “flawed” legal reasoning.

“The Superior Court’s Order prevented the public and press from reading the full report even though it addresses a subject of paramount public concern to this state and nation: possible wrongdoing in connection with the U.S. presidential election of 2020, including possible wrongdoing by the then sitting U.S. president,” said the appeal.

The filing acknowledged the value of maintaining the secrecy of the grand jury process. But it said the court has “consistently emphasized that the outcome of grand jury proceedings must be shared with the public to protect against public distrust.”

The appeal was made by news outlets including Associated Press, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The New York Times and CNN.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis said last month that her decision on whether to bring charges against Trump (photo) or his associates would be coming soon. She has argued against releasing the grand jury report.

The foreperson for the special grand jury, Emily Kohrs, has suggested in multiple interviews that the panel has recommended charges against a lengthy list of people after eight months of jury duty.

“It’s not a short list,” Kohrs told CNN on Tuesday. “There may be some names on that list that you wouldn’t expect. But the big name that everyone keeps asking me about — I don’t think you will be shocked.”