'The evidence is powerful': Trump's political future could be on the line following judge's ruling
Donald Trump's hopes of running for president in 2024 could suffer a fatal blow later this month when a judge in Georgia hears arguments regarding the release of a grand jury report over his involvement into possible election tampering that one legal scholar predicted could be "momentous."
According to a report from the Guardian's Chris McGreal, the grand jury's report is now in the hands of the judge, and, if the report recommends prosecution and is made public, it could lead Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to follow through and drag the former president into court.
As the report notes, the 23-member panel wrapped up their work last Monday and specifically requested the report be viewed by the public -- something Trump's lawyers will likely try to stop.
According to legal scholar Norm Eisen of the Brookings Institution, which issued its own report stating the former president is "at substantial risk of prosecution," there is a wealth of evidence that could lead to prosecution for "improperly influencing government officials, forgery and criminal solicitation."
Speaking with McGreal of the Guardian, Eisen claimed it is "highly likely” Willis will follow the recommendations of the grand jury and procede with prosecution.
“The evidence is powerful and the law is very favourable to the prosecutors in Georgia,” the attorney explained. “I believe the [special grand jury] report very likely calls for the prosecution of Trump and his co-conspirators.”
Eisen noted that the Georgia case is farther along than the Department of Justice's investigation of Trump over his part in the Jan 6th insurrection and obstruction of justice with regard to the taking of government documents and hoarding them at Mar-a-Lago.
That means Trump could be in a Georgia courtroom long before the DOJ concludes its work.
According to the Guardian report, "If the grand jury’s report recommends prosecution, a county district attorney in Atlanta, Fani Willis, will face the most consequential decision of her career – whether, for the first time in American history, to charge a former president with a criminal offence," adding, "That could result in Trump sitting behind bars in Georgia when he expects to be out on the campaign trail. Provided he is not already serving time as the result of a federal investigation into his attempts to pressure election officials in several other states to rig the vote and his part in the 6 January 2021 storming of the Capitol."
According to the Guardian, "Those who have worked with Willis say she is unlikely to shy from prosecuting Trump if she deems it appropriate. She is known to be a fan of anti-racketeering laws, having used them to prosecute public school teachers who were part of a cheating scandal. If Willis decides to press ahead with the case, she will need to convene a regular grand jury which has the authority to hand down indictments."
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