The Atlanta prosecutor leading the probe into former President Donald Trump’s alleged efforts to overturn Georgia’s 2020 election results is expected to announce in August whether criminal charges will be brought.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis told staff to work remotely from July 31 to Aug. 18 and has requested judges in a downtown Atlanta courthouse to not schedule trials between Aug. 7 and 14, according to a Thursday letter to county officials obtained by the New York Times.
The moves are seen as signs that a grand jury decision in the sensational case will be announced at that time, paving the way for Willis to prosecute.
“Thank you for your consideration and assistance in keeping the Fulton County Judicial Complex safe during this time,” Willis wrote in her memo to staff and judges.
Trump and some members of his 2020 election team could face indictments for conspiracy to commit election fraud or charges related to racketeering in plotting to undermine the 2020 presidential race results.
Recommendations for an indictment were revealed in a special grand jury report delivered to Willis in January — and followed by a number of bizarre interviews that the jury’s forewoman, Emily Kohrs, gave in February that heavily hinted at Trump being among those the special grand jury recommended for indictment.
The Georgia case requires a second grand jury to consider whether to bring charges.
“It is not a short list,” Kohrs previously told the Times of the people she expects to be indicted. “You’re not going to be shocked. It’s not rocket science.”
Trump is already facing 34 felony counts from the office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg for allegedly making hush-money payments to Stormy Daniels in the lead-up to the 2016 election.
Willis, 52, told Atlanta-based law enforcement agencies in a letter last month to prepare for “significant public reaction” to a potential charging decision between July 11 and Sept. 1.
The Democratic Fulton County DA began her probe of the former president and his allies more than two years ago, looking into a phone call between Trump and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.
She convened an initial special grand jury for the case that quizzed ex-Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and GOP Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp — and announced in January that a charging decision was “imminent.”
Prosecutors in the office also interviewed at least eight electors whom Trump allies had gotten to sign a certificate declaring Trump had won Georgia, with each elector being granted immunity.
Giuliani is reportedly in the crosshairs for making false statements before the Georgia Legislature about the 2020 election.
Trump’s legal team requested in March that the special grand jury report be thrown out and Willis be removed from the case, saying her investigation “involved a constant lack of clarity as to the law, inconsistent applications of basic constitutional protections for individuals being brought before it, and a prosecutor’s office that was found to have an actual conflict, yet continued to pursue the investigation,” according to lawyers Drew Findling, Jennifer Little and Marissa Goldberg.
On Monday, Willis pushed back on the motion, saying it was “procedurally flawed” and citing its “arguments that lack merit” — prompting Trump’s team to request 21 days to respond to her.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Ural Glanville has yet to weigh in on either request.
