Attorneys representing former President Donald Trump claimed that the Georgia investigation into his attempts to overturn the 2020 election has been “compromised” and that any indictments stemming from it would likely be “faulty” due to recent remarks made by a member of the special grand jury in the case .
“We absolutely do not believe that our client did anything wrong, and if any indictments were to come down, those indictments were wrong. We will absolutely fight anything tooth and nail,” Trump attorney Jennifer Little said in an interview with Robert Costa that aired on CBS’s Face the Nation on Sunday. The former president is being investigated for trying to pressure then-Georgia secretary of state Brad Raffensperger to “find” votes for Trump after the 2020 election had concluded.
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The lawyers pointed to recent comments to multiple media outlets by the foreperson on the special grand jury probe, Emily Kohrs, who hinted that Trump and a dozen of his allies were recommended for indictments. A special purpose grand jury can only recommend indictments, but its recommendations can lead to a criminal grand jury, which could issue indictments. So far, Fulton County Prosecutor Fani T. Willis has not moved to charge Trump.
Attorney Drew Findling, who is also on Trump’s defense team, said the team has “lost 100 percent confidence in this process” and feels the process “has been compromised.” Kohrs’ remarks, Findling claimed, “made us aware that every suspicion we had as to this questionable process was in fact a reality.”
Costas noted, however, that by the time Kohrs spoke to the media, the grand jury process had ended, and that she did not break any rules. Finding the respondent that when Kohrs used the word “we” in her remarks about the process, he added that it indicated “they lost perspective over keeping the separation between prosecuting attorneys and members of the grand jury.”
“When the foreperson uses the word ‘we,’ that lets you know there was a relationship there,” the lawyer said (although it seems plausible Kohrs’ “we” was referring to himself and the other grand jury members).
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney, who oversaw the special grand jury, said that jurors could not discuss deliberations publicly, but they could speak about the final report the grand jury issued. “What witnesses said, what you put in your report, those are not off-limits,” McBurney said to CNN.
Legal experts have also said that Korh’s comments are unlikely to affect the prosecution. “Emily Kohrs’s pursuit of her fifteen minutes is not likely to preclude anyone who indicted and realized from serving their term of years,” MSNBC legal analyst Lisa Rubin tweeted.
Former federal prosecutor Amy Lee Copeland also doubted Kohrs’ interviews would interfere with prosecutors, though her comments may be inconvenient for them. “Is this a headache that is grinding the machine to a halt? It’s not. It’s just one of the many frustrations that attends the practice of law,” Copeland told the AP.
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