A special grand jury has been selected to hear evidence in an investigation into whether former President Donald Trump and his allies committed any crimes in their efforts to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, a Democrat, has been investigating whether Trump or his allies committed any crimes in their efforts to pressure state officials to overturn President Joe Biden’s victory in Georgia in 2020.
Some 26 jurors were selected, including three alternates. The rest of the 200-person pool was dismissed.
Fulton Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney told the group of prospective jurors that that they will have investigative authority and subpoena power to help Willis investigate whether or not a crime was committed.
“This group will simply be receiving information, testimony, documents, and ultimately issuing a report that will go on me and to the district attorney, and my colleagues on this bench, where you recommend, recommend what should come next in the district attorney’s investigation. She’s already underway in the investigation,” McBurney told the court.
In the roughly two-hour process of selecting the jurors, McBurney asked people to state whether they were available for service or whether they had a conflict. If they said they had a conflict, they were ushered into a separate room to speak privately with the judge, Willis and members of the district attorney’s team.
Jurors were instructed that elected officials or those who were not residents of the area could not be included in the jury pool. Conflicts also included having a predetermined view about whether a crime was or was not committed. Jurors could also cite a conflict if serving on the grand jury would cause undue hardship in their lives.
Some of the people who were not chosen to be part of the jury pool appeared relieved, letting out audible cheers of “Yes! Yes!” as they were released.
Members of the press were escorted out of the courtroom so the grand jury could be sworn in.
