A grand jury has been selected to determine if there is enough evidence to prosecute anyone for alleged attempts to overthrow the 2020 presidential election in Georgia.
The panel will decide if there’s enough evidence gathered by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to bring charges related to alleged election interference and who should be indicted, if so, WSB-TV reported.
About 100 people from the Atlanta area reported to the county court Tuesday morning for jury selection, The Washington Post reported. A majority of those summoned said they were “ready to serve.” About 20 said there would be a “hardship” to serve and were questioned in a separate, private room by the judge and prosecutors.
The investigation into former President Donald Trump’s attempts to change the outcome of the 2020 election included a phone call he made to Georgia’s Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in which Trump was recorded saying, “All I want to find is 11,780 votes.”
[ Trump urged Georgia secretary of state to ‘find’ votes during phone call ]
President Joe Biden won Fulton County in the 2020 election with about 73% of the vote, CNN reported.
The New York Times obtained a recording of the call and shared a transcript from it.
The investigation eventually expanded into allegations of false GOP electors, state senate subcommittee testimony and an alleged break-in at an elections office, WSB reported.
The investigation has spanned 2 1/2 years, The Associated Press reported.
Two grand juries will be selected with a total of 23 members and three alternates, the AP and WSB reported.
[ Georgia launches investigation into Trump’s call with election officials ]
One panel will meet on Mondays and Tuesdays; the others on Thursdays and Fridays. They could hear potentially hundreds of indictments unrelated to the election case, but officials have not said which will hear that specific one, the Post reported.
To make an indictment, 16 of the 23 voting members of the grand jury must be present and once a quorum is established, 12 votes are needed to hand up an indictment, CNN reported.
This is the second time Willis has used a grand jury in the investigation. The first, a year into the process, was to seat a special grand jury to issue subpoenas to people who may not have wanted to participate in the investigation, the AP reported.
[ Trump probe in Georgia expands to include activities in other states: report ]
The special grand jury was seated from May 2022 through January, when it was released. The panel produced a report after hearing from about 75 witnesses and examining other evidence. While secret, portions of the report were made public and, while no names were given, the foreperson said that there were recommendations to indict several people. Willis is not required to act on the grand jury’s findings, the AP reported.
[ Parts of Georgia grand jury report on Trump, 2020 election released ]
Trump’s attorney, Jennifer Little, told CBS News in February, “We absolutely do not believe that our client did anything wrong, and if any indictments were to come down, those are faulty indictments. We will absolutely fight anything tooth and nail.”
Trump himself has said the call was “perfect” and denied doing anything wrong, CBS News reported.
[ Georgia prosecutor will decide on election probe ‘charging decisions’ in summer ]
A decision is expected sometime before Sept. 1, with Willis’ staff working remotely in August. She also asked judges to cut back on in-person hearings during the same time.