GA Special Grand Jury Convened in Trump Election-Interference Probe

MAY 2 2022·Updated DEC 26 2022

Story

Image credit: Ben Gray/Associated Press [via WSJ.com]

The Facts

A special grand jury has been seated in Georgia to aid Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis' investigation into whether former Pres. Trump and others unlawfully attempted to influence the 2020 presidential election.
NBC
Willis may use the 23-person special grand jury to issue subpoenas to those who've refused to cooperate with the investigation.
NBC
Trump lost the presidential election in Georgia by roughly 12k votes out 5M cast. He was the first Republican presidential candidate to lose the state since 1992.
CBS News
At the center of Willis' investigation is Trump's Jan. 2, 2021 phone call with Georgia Sec. of State Brad Raffensperger. In the call he's heard saying, "I just want to find 11,780 votes," which was the exact margin by which he lost the state to Pres. Biden.
wsj
Willis said she plans to wait until after the state's May 24 primaries to subpoena public officials.
wsj

Sources Split

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The Spin

Pro-Trump narrative

A prosecutor in the Democratic stronghold of Fulton County is trying to prosecute Trump for being Trump. There's no evidence that he broke any laws when he asked the Sec. of State to verify the legitimacy of the election. If they want to charge someone with a crime, Democrats should turn themselves in for illegal ballot harvesting.

PJ Media

Democratic narrative

This is a significant step toward holding Trump accountable for his actions after the 2020 election. Instead of having investigators poking around, the special grand jury will be able to hear testimony about the Raffensperger phone call and other events that might prove Trump's guilt. It could possibly even compel Trump to testify.

Daily Kos

Cynical narrative

Bringing Trump to justice won't fix the fundamental flaws in America's democratic system. The Georgia case - as well as that of other swing states in the 2020 election – is proof that reforms are needed to shore up confidence in the US electoral systems and ensure that the will of American voters can't be overturned by the whim of a single partisan bureaucrat.