ATLANTA (CN) — Juror selection began Tuesday for a Fulton County grand jury tasked with deciding whether former President Donald Trump and his allies criminally interfered in Georgia's 2020 election.
The grand jury is one of two being selected in Atlanta on Tuesday as part of Fulton County's new grand jury term.
The grand jury, which will examine a range of alleged interference in the 2020 Georgia elections, may ultimately decide to indict Trump or other members of his inner circle. It represents yet another legal headache for the former president, who has already faced indictments in New York and Florida.
Fani Willis, Fulton County's district attorney, has said she plans to present new evidence of 2020 election interference during the fourth term of Fulton County's Superior Court, which runs from July 11 to September 1. Willis has been investigating the matter since early 2021.
Last year, a 23-member special purpose grand jury was impaneled at Willis' request to focus on this alleged interference. It heard eight months of testimony from 75 witnesses, including poll workers, investigators, technical experts, state employees, officials and "persons still claiming that such fraud took place."
That special-purpose grand jury produced a final report for Willis, a small portion of which was released in February. It revealed the jurors unanimously found no evidence of widespread voter fraud. It also showed they believed one or more witnesses lied during their testimony.
While Trump was never subpoenaed to testify before the special grand jury, Willis' investigation is largely centered around a leaked phone call shortly after the 2020 election.
In that call, Trump asked Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, also a Republican, to “find” 11,780 votes — the number of votes Trump needed to beat Joe Biden in Georgia. Raffensperger declined.
That call is just one several incidents that could potentially land Trump or his allies in legal hot water in Georgia.
According to court documents and attorney statements, at least 18 people have been notified they are targets of Willis' investigation, including Rudy Giuliani, who was Trump's attorney at the time. Giuliani allegedly made false claims about election fraud to Georgia legislators during three meetings in December 2020.
Other known targets include David Shafer, chairman of the Georgia Republican Party, and 11 fake GOP electors that Shafer helped enlist to falsely certify that Trump had won the vote in states where he actually lost.
Findings in the House Jan. 6 committee's report released last December indicate that former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, who reportedly traveled to Georgia to pressure election officials, and John Eastman, who solicited state officials and organized the fake elector scheme, are also likely to face charges. Also under investigation is an incident from rural Coffee County, Georgia, in which Sidney Powell, one of Trump's campaign attorneys, allegedly paid a tech firm to copy election data from voting equipment.
Like the previous special purpose grand jury, this new regular grand jury in Fulton County will examine evidence concerning these incidents.
Unlike the special purpose grand jury, though, this grand jury will have the power to criminally charge people.
Under Georgia law, a special purpose grand jury is seated to focus on a single case. It does not have the power to issue indictments, though it can recommend them.
A regular grand jury, on the other hand, does have the power to indict. Grand juries hear evidence from hundreds of various felony cases over a two month term. The grand juries currently being selected in Fulton County will each have 26 jurors, including 23 regular grand jurors and three alternates.
Willis has said the earliest that a grand jury could begin hearing the evidence would be on July 17. This will be the final phase of Willis's probe.
Should Trump ultimately see new charges brought in Georgia, it will hardly be his appearance in court. The former president currently faces 37 federal charges out of Miami related to willfully retaining top-secret national security documents and conspiracy to obstruct justice, to which he pleaded not guilty to last month.
Trump also pleaded not guilty to a 34-count indictment out of New York, which accuse him of falsifying business records in relation to reimbursement payments to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels and former Playboy playmate Karen McDougal to refrain from making public statements about extramarital affairs they claimed to have had with Trump. Willis said the other criminal cases against the former president have no current impact on her investigation.
As the first former or sitting U.S. president to be criminally charged, Trump has denounced the charges and investigations against him — including by Willis — as a "witch hunt." He's also used his prosecutions as fuel for his 2024 campaign, portraying himself as a victim of a politically motivated federal justice system.
If early indications hold true, Trump could soon have more of that fuel — and more indictments. In a letter sent to county officials almost two months ago, Willis indicated an indictment could be obtained at some point between July 31 and Aug. 18.
In the letter, Willis asked Ural Glanville, chief judge of Fulton County Superior Court, not schedule any trials or in-person hearings during the weeks of August 7 and August 14. She also told the county sheriff to make preparations for “heightened security and preparedness” with state and federal law enforcement agencies — both possible signs that Willis is seeking charges against major political figures who questioned Georgia's 2020 election results, possibly even including Trump himself.
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