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A2 UP FRONT
Tuesday 31 January 2023
Trump investigations: Georgia prosecutor ups anticipation

Continued from Front that did things absolutely ber tapped Jack Smith, a sual nature of the Georgia The panel lacked the
perfectly." former public corruption proceedings. authority to issue an in-
Besides the Georgia inquiry, It is unclear how Willis' case prosecutor, to act as spe- Willis in January of last dictment, but its report is
a Justice Department spe- will impact the Justice De- cial counsel overseeing year sought to convene a presumed to include rec-
cial counsel is investigating partment's probes or what investigations into Trump's special grand jury to help ommendations for further
Trump over his role in work- action, possibly including
ing with allies to overturn his potential criminal charges.
loss in the 2020 presidential The special grand jury was
election and his alleged dissolved earlier this month
mishandling of classified after wrapping up its work
documents. and finalizing a report on
Trump had appeared to its investigation. The grand
face the most pressing jurors recommended the
legal jeopardy from the report be made public.
probe into a cache of clas- News organizations, includ-
sified materials at his Florida ing The Associated Press,
resort, and that threat re- argued for the report to
mains. But that case seems be released. At a hear-
complicated, at least po- ing last week, Willis said
litically, by the recent dis- that a decision was loom-
covery of classified records ing on whether to seek an
at President Joe Biden's indictment and that she
Delaware home and at a opposed releasing the re-
Washington office. The Jus- port because she wanted
tice Department tapped a to ensure "that everyone is
separate special counsel treated fairly and we think
to investigate that matter. for future defendants to
Willis opened her office's be treated fairly, it is not
investigation shortly after appropriate at this time to
the release of a recording Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis watches proceedings during a hearing to decide if the have this report released."
of a Jan. 2, 2021, phone final report by a special grand jury looking into possible interference in the 2020 presidential Attorneys for witnesses
election can be released Jan. 24, 2023, in Atlanta.
call between Trump and Associated Press and others identified as
Georgia Secretary of State targets have insisted that
Brad Raffensperger. In that Willis is driven by politics
conversation, the then- rather than by legitimate
president suggested that concerns that crimes were
Raffensperger, a fellow Re- contact her team has had actions leading up to the her investigation, citing committed. Among other
publican, could "find" the with federal investigators. deadly Jan. 6, 2021, Capi- the need for its subpoena things, they pointed to her
votes needed to overturn Justice Department pros- tol riot and into his posses- power to compel the testi- public statements and ini-
Trump's narrow election ecutors have been circum- sion of hundreds of clas- mony of witnesses who oth- tial willingness to speak to
loss in the state to Biden, a spect in discussing their in- sified documents at the erwise wouldn't talk to her. print and television news
Democrat. vestigations, offering little Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm She said in a letter to Fulton outlets.
"All I want to do is this: I just insight into how or when Beach, Florida. County's chief judge that Danny Porter, a Republi-
want to find 11,780 votes, they might end. Though Smith and his team her office had received in- can who served as district
which is one more than we But Willis' comments indi- of prosecutors have issued formation indicating a "rea- attorney in neighboring
have," Trump said on the cate that the Georgia in- grand jury subpoenas, he sonable probability" that Gwinnett County for nearly
call. vestigation is on a path has not revealed when his the 2020 election in Geor- three decades, said Willis
Since then, the investiga- toward resolution — with investigation might con- gia "was subject to possible has been navigating un-
tion's scope has broadened charges or not — on a clude or who might be a criminal disruptions." familiar territory. Special
considerably, encompass- timetable independent of target. The county's superior court grand juries are relatively
ing among other things: a what the Justice Depart- Garland has declined to judges voted to grant the rare in Georgia, and the
slate of Republican fake ment is planning to do, le- discuss the probes, say- request, and the panel was law doesn't provide much
electors, phone calls by gal experts said. ing only that "no person is seated in May. The grand guidance for prosecutors,
Trump and others to Geor- Cunningham, the Georgia above the law" and that jurors heard from 75 witness- he said.
gia officials in the weeks af- State professor, said that there aren't separate rules es and reviewed evidence Even so, Porter said, it ap-
ter the 2020 election, and Willis' comments implied for Democrats and Repub- collected by prosecutors peared Willis had not
unfounded allegations of that the special grand licans. and investigators. Among crossed any ethical or le-
widespread election fraud jury's report contained de- FBI agents recently the witnesses who testified gal red lines that would call
made to state lawmakers. tail about people who the searched Biden's Wilm- were former New York may- into question the integrity
In an interview, Trump in- panel and Willis believe ington, Delaware, home, or and Trump lawyer Rudy of the investigation.
sisted he did "absolute- should, at minimum, be fur- finding six items containing Giuliani, U.S. Sen. Lindsey "Procedurally," he said,
ly nothing wrong" and ther investigated. classified documents, the Graham of South Carolina "I haven't seen anything
that his phone call with "She wouldn't be talking White House said. Further and such Georgia state of- that made me go, 'Oh,
Raffensperger was "per- about the release of the muddling the Justice De- ficials as Raffensperger and jeez, I wouldn't have done
fect." He said he felt "very report creating prejudice partment's calculus: Classi- Gov. Brian Kemp. that.'"q
confident" that he would to potential future defend- fied records were found this
not be indicted. ants unless she saw in the month at the Indiana home
"She's supposed to be stop- report peoples' names who of Trump's vice president,
ping violent crime, and she saw as potential future Mike Pence.
that's her job," Trump said defendants," he added. Public disclosures about
of Willis. "Not to go after Attorney General Mer- Willis' case are the result, to
people for political reasons, rick Garland in Novem- some degree, of the unu-