Investigation into Trump and 2020 Georgia Election Ends

(Trends Wide) — The Atlanta-area grand jury charged with investigating whether former President Donald Trump and his allies broke the law in their efforts to overturn the 2020 election has finished its job, according to new court documents.

“With the delivery of the special grand jury’s final report, the undersigned’s recommendation, and the vote of the Superior Court bench, it is the ORDER of this court that the special purpose grand jury be dissolved,” wrote Judge Robert McBurney, who has overseen the activity of the Fulton County special grand jury, in a brief court order Monday.

In Georgia, special grand juries are not authorized to issue indictments. However, the panel will submit a final report that serves as a mechanism for the grand jury to recommend whether Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis should file charges in her election interference case. Willis can then go to a regular grand jury to request indictments.

Willis has already spent more than a year investigating Trump and his associates. Their investigation began in early 2021, shortly after a January call was made public in which Trump pressured Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find” the votes needed for Trump to win the presidential election in the state.

Over time, his investigation has expanded beyond that call to include false claims of voter fraud to state legislators, conspiracy by false voters, efforts by unauthorized persons to gain access to voting machines in a Georgia county and threats and harassment against poll workers.

McBurney has scheduled a hearing for Jan. 24 for the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office and others to argue whether the special grand jury’s report should be made public. McBurney said the special jury recommended the publication of its final report.

The special investigative jury —23 jurors and three alternates— was established in May 2022 with the power to summon witnesses.