Georgia grand jury investigation of Trump ends — leaving DA with choice to seek indictment: report

On Monday, Lawfare's Anna Bower reported that the "special purpose" grand jury in Fulton County, Georgia investigating election interference by former President Donald Trump has concluded its work and disbanded, by order of state judge Robert McBurney.

"The grand jury voted to make its report public," reported Bower. "A hearing will be held on Jan. 24 to determine if it will be published."

Under Georgia law, a special purpose grand jury is investigative only and cannot issue indictments, only recommend them. If Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis wishes to bring indictments against Trump or any of his allies, she can then convene a regular grand jury to hear the facts.

"There is nothing in the law that says the DA has to wait for the SPGJ's report to become public before she presents evidence and seeks indictments from regular grand jury, though she might wait for political or normative reasons," reported Bower. "What's unclear ... is whether the SPGJ's report can be presented as evidence to the regular grand jury prior to its publication."

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The Fulton County investigation has been probing every aspect of attempts by Trump and his allies to interfere in the election results and certification in the state of Georgia. Several of Trump's allies, like former National Security Adviser and QAnon conspiracy theorist Michael Flynn and South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, were ordered to testify, and reports indicate that Willis has credible evidence that serious crimes were committed as part of the election plots.

Among the issues investigated as part of this probe are calls by Trump and allies to Georgia election officials, including the former president's infamous phone call with Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger demanding he "find" thousands of extra votes, and the plot to declare fake electors attesting to Trump winning the state, one of which was David Shafer, the chair of the Georgia Republican Party.