Georgia judge to release parts of report on Trump's efforts to overturn election

GEORGIA - Portions of a Georgia special grand jury's report on former US president Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the state's 2020 election should be publicly released, but any recommendations on criminal charges will remain sealed for now, a state judge ruled on Monday (Feb 13).

The panel's findings, which have remained sealed since the final report's existence was disclosed in January, could potentially serve as the basis for a prosecution of Trump or his associates who attempted to reverse Democratic President Joe Biden's statewide victory.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney said in the order that three parts of the report would be released on Thursday - the introduction, the conclusion and a section in which the grand jury "discusses its concern that some witnesses may have lied under oath". 

However he declined to release the full report for now, including any recommendations as to whether individuals should be charged.

McBurney cited concern about the due process rights of witnesses or potential defendants who were not afforded a full chance to respond to allegations during the grand jury process.

"This is particularly true if the grand jury's final report includes recommendations involving individuals who never appeared before the grand jury and so had no opportunity, limited or not, to be heard," he wrote. Trump was not subpoenaed and did not testify to the grand jury.

The decision on whether to file criminal charges ultimately lies with Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.

At a court hearing on Jan 25, Willis told McBurney that charging decisions were "imminent" and urged him to keep the grand jury report under wraps for now to ensure future defendants cannot cry foul.

Willis' investigation could make Trump the first former US president to face criminal prosecution, months after he launched his bid for the Republican presidential nomination to challenge Biden in 2024.

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Trump has denied wrongdoing and accused Willis, an elected Democrat, of targeting him for political gain.

McBurney said he was delaying the report's partial release until Thursday to give prosecutors time to discuss with him whether any further redactions need to be made.

Willis launched her investigation shortly after a January 2021 phone call in the waning days of Trump's term, when the then president urged Georgia's top election official to "find" enough votes to deliver him the state. Days later, Trump supporters breached the US Capitol seeking to stop Congress from certifying Biden's victory.

Biden's Georgia win, the first for a Democratic presidential candidate in nearly three decades, confirmed the state's emergence as a political battleground, a status that has been underscored by a series of high-profile Senate races that have helped Democrats maintain a majority in the chamber.

The special grand jury was convened last year at Willis' request as an investigative tool, in part because it had the authority to subpoena witnesses.

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The panel did not have the power to issue indictments, though the report may include recommendations. If Willis decides to pursue charges, she would have to seek indictments from a regular grand jury.

Over the course of around seven months, the jurors heard testimony from 75 witnesses, including senior Trump advisers such as attorney Rudy Giuliani and US Senator Lindsey Graham and top Georgia Republicans such as Governor Brian Kemp.

In addition to Trump's phone call, the wide-ranging investigation has examined a scheme in which an alternate slate of presidential electors falsely affirmed to Congress that Trump, not Biden, had won the state's electoral votes.

The Georgia probe is among numerous civil and criminal investigations threatening Trump, his family and his associates.