A Georgia judge ruled Monday that parts of a Fulton County grand jury report on possible interference in the 2020 election by former President Donald Trump and his allies be made public this week.
Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney said in an eight-page ruling that the report’s introduction and conclusions, as well as Section VIII, in which jurors express concern that some witnesses may have lied under oath, could be made public. He said that the identity of those witnesses could not be ascertained.
The Fulton County District Attorney’s Office convened a Special Purpose Grand Jury to investigate and prepare a report on “‘facts and circumstances relating directly or indirectly to possible efforts to obstruct the lawful administration of the 2020 elections in the State of Georgia'” and Whether one should be prosecuted for such possible offenses.
The grand jury presented its findings in a report to Fulton County District Attorney Fannie Willis last month. Willis will decide whether to present evidence to the grand jury for criminal indictments.
In his ruling Monday, McBurney said the report included recommendations “for who should (or shouldn’t) be, and for whom,” but those portions remain sealed for now.
A group of news organizations petitioned him to make the report public, and he agreed with some of their arguments.
McBurney wrote, “[w]hile publication may not be convenient for the speed of the District Attorney’s investigation, the compelling public interest and undeniable value and importance of transparency in these proceedings require their release.”
He said he has scheduled the release for Thursday so that the parties involved can make corrections if necessary.
McBurney said the rest of the report should not be released “until the district attorney completes his investigation.”
Willis praised the decision in a statement, saying: “I believe Judge McBurney’s order is legally correct and consistent with my request. I have no plans to appeal today’s order.”
Willis convened the special grand jury last year because the panel had the power to issue subpoenas to compel witnesses to testify.
Trump’s attorney Rudy Giuliani, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-SC, and several people who acted as “alternate voters” for those duly elected in the state were among those present.
Gov. Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, whom Trump and his allies pressured to change the outcome of the 2020 election, also testified.
The grand jury incriminated a Jan. 2, 2021 phone call amid incidents in which Trump urged Raffensperger, the state’s top elections official, to overturn Joe Biden’s victory. “That’s all I want to do. I just want to get 11,780 votes, which is one more than us. Because we won the state,” Trump said in the call.
Trump has denied any wrongdoing, and he has called the investigation a “witch hunt”.