Atlanta –
Former U.S. President Donald Trump’s attorney in Georgia has criticized a Fulton County probe into potential illegal election interference after the head of a special grand jury seated to support the investigation was exposed this week. There is
Emily Coase spoke first in an interview published by The Associated Press on Tuesday, followed by interviews in other print and television news outlets. It explained some of what happened – how some witnesses behaved, how prosecutors interacted with witnesses, how some witnesses exercised their right not to answer certain questions, etc. .
Trump’s attorneys Drew Findling and Jennifer Little said they remained silent out of respect for the grand jury process, even though they had concerns about the panel’s procedures from the beginning. , said the revelations the course offered this week forced them to speak up.
“Ultimately, the credibility of what happened there is completely tainted and questioned,” Findling said in an interview with the Associated Press Wednesday night. “As a 30-year-old foreman, I had no regrets,” he said.
“She’s the product of a circus masquerading as a special-purpose grand jury,” he said.
Findling and Little are aware of all the legal issues in the case and are keeping their options open.
The special grand jury was impeached at the request of Fulton County District Attorney Fanny Willis. Willis is investigating whether Trump and his Republican supporters committed any crime when they tried to reverse his narrow 2020 election loss to Georgia Democrat Joe Biden. The commission did not have the power to indict, but was able to recommend Willis, the Democrat who ultimately decides whether an ordinary grand jury should seek indictment.
Willis’ office declined to comment on Cole’s media appearances, other than to say she had no prior knowledge that she was going to be interviewed. and declined to comment on Little’s comments.
Findling and Little, although the special grand jury was supposed to make recommendations to the district attorney based on evidence and testimony presented in the jury room, were not allowed to see or read news reports of the case. expressed concern that Efforts of witnesses who do not testify. Kohrs said prosecutors urged jurors to read and watch the news, but to keep an open mind.
Coles also shared many anecdotes from the proceedings that she found amusing and was very expressive in television interviews, sometimes laughing or making faces.
Findling and Little said the district attorney’s office, which was advising the special grand jury, should have done a better job of educating the grand jury about the solemnity of the procedure and the rules and limitations.
“No kidding,” said Findling. “It’s not a problem to giggle. It’s not a problem to laugh.”
Trump himself lashed out Wednesday in a post on his social media networks, calling the Georgia investigation “a ridiculous and strictly political continuation of the greatest witch hunt in history.” He expressed his disappointment that Coles “does a media tour that incredibly reveals the inner workings and thoughts of a grand jury.”
Coles did not publicly name the individuals the special grand jury had suggested could be indicted, but Findling and Little said in response to media questions about the indictment that she had implicated Trump. claimed to be visible. That’s a problem, said Findling. This is because they have investigated the evidence and are convinced that “our client has not violated the law at all”.
Trump’s lawyers also said the situation could have been avoided had the judge instructed members of the special grand jury not to speak to the press until the panel’s full and final report was released. Parts of the report were released last week, but Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney said the section recommending specific charges against specific people would remain confidential for now. Said there was.
At a hearing last month, lawyers for a coalition of news outlets, including the AP, called for the immediate release of the full report.
Under the federal system, grand juries are barred from speaking about what witnesses said or what happened in the room. is written only.
The grand jury disbanded on Jan. 9, and McBurney told the AP that he later met with the grand jury to discuss the situation. He said he provided them with “rules of the road” that they were legally permitted and not allowed to discuss publicly.
He said he could discuss the statements of witnesses and the contents of the report, but not the deliberations.
Some of the things Coles said in the interview were part of the deliberations, including when he talked about the decision to recommend multiple indictments and why the grand jury wouldn’t bring Trump in to testify. Little believes
Willis is interested in the Jan. 2, 2021 phone call Trump suggested to fellow Republican Secretary of State Brad Ravensperger that he could “find” the vote since the investigation began two years ago. Trump’s defeat to Biden in the state had to be reversed.
“This is all I want to do. I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have,” Trump said on that call.
More than two years after the Willis investigation began, the Willis investigation has expanded into other areas, including the fake Republican electoral rolls that Trump swore won the state and the breach of election equipment in the rural South. revealed to have expanded. Georgia county.
