Portions of Georgia grand jury report in 2020 election probe to be released this week, judge rules
Portions of a report submitted by the Georgia grand jury investigating efforts by former President Donald Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the 2020 election will be released later this week, a Georgia judge ruled Monday.
The majority of the long-anticipated report, however, will remain sealed, Fulton County Judge Robert McBurney ordered.
Portions of the report are set to be released this Thursday, according to the order, including a section "in which the special purpose grand jury discusses its concern that some witnesses may have lied under oath during their testimony to the grand jury."
The ruling comes after McBurney heard arguments last month regarding the public release the confidential report, which the grand jury submitted earlier this month after probing the matter for months.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis had argued for the report to remain sealed, saying that it was important to "be mindful of protecting future defendants' rights."
Willis also said during the hearing that and that charging decisions were "imminent."
In his order, McBurney agreed that much of the final report "should not be disclosed until such time as the District Attorney completes her investigation, although two parts may now be published, consistent with protecting the due process rights of all involved."
McBurney said that three parts of the final report are "ripe for publication": the introduction, the conclusion, and "Section VIII, in which the special purpose grand jury discusses its concern that some witnesses may have lied under oath during their testimony to the grand jury."
That section, though, "does not identify those witnesses," according to the order.
Willis officially launched the probe in February 2021, sparked in part by the now-infamous Jan. 2, 2021, phone call Trump made to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in which Trump pleaded with Raffensperger to "find 11,780 votes," the exact number Trump needed to win Georgia.
Though the grand jury does not have the ability to return an indictment, it can make recommendations concerning criminal prosecution. Another grand jury would bring any possible charges, should they be recommended.
