A request by Georgia’s Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis for a special grant jury in her election interference probe into former President Trump was granted by a panel of county judges on Monday.
In the order, Christopher Brasher, chief judge of the Superior Court of Fulton County, wrote that Willis’ request issued last week was considered and approved by a majority of the judges on the court.
Brasher wrote the special grand jury is scheduled to commence starting on May 2 and can continue to do so for a period of time that does “not to exceed 12 months.”
“The special purpose grand jury shall be authorized to investigate any and all facts and circumstances relating directly or indirectly to alleged violations of the laws of the State of Georgia,” Brasher wrote.
Willis’ request was granted a week after she told Brasher in a letter that she needed assistance with her election interference investigation from a special grand jury because a “significant number of witnesses and prospective witnesses have refused to cooperate with the investigation absent a subpoena requiring their testimony,” she wrote.
Willis initially launched her investigation nearly a year ago. Willis’ probe zeroes in on Trump’s fruitless efforts to pressure Georgia officials into helping him reverse the state’s 2020 election results. The probe is centered on Trump’s infamous call with Georgia secretary of state Brad Raffensperger in early January last year, in which the then-President demanded that Raffensperger “find” 11,780 nonexistent votes to overturn Joe Biden’s victory in the battleground state.
Willis is also seeking information regarding the involvement of Trump allies in the effort to steal votes in the battleground state. In Nov. 2021, Trump ally Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) called Raffensperger and allegedly asked him about tossing all mail-in ballots from counties with significant amounts of signature mismatch.
Willis has also signaled that prosecutors are looking into the sudden departure of Atlanta-based U.S. Attorney Byung “BJay” Pak in early January last year, which TPM first reported. Additionally, prosecutors are examining election fraud falsehoods issued by Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani during a hearing before the Georgia Senate Judiciary Committee a month after the 2020 presidential election.
