The forewoman of the Georgia special grand jury investigating efforts to overturn the 2020 election is now causing a headache for prosecutors

Tom Porter

February 23, 2023 at 9:30 AM·3 min read

Emily Kohrs, the foreperson on the special grand jury empaneled in the investigation into Donald Trump's bid to overturn the 2020 election, discusses the case in an MSNBC interview on February 22, 2023.MSNBC

The foreperson in the special grand jury in Georgia investigating Trump has given a media tour.
She confirmed that the panel recommended indictments.
Republicans have since used her comments to discredit the investigation.

A media tour by the foreperson of a special grand jury investigating Donald Trump's efforts to overturn Georgia's 2020 election results is causing a headache for prosecutors.

Emily Kohrs, the foreperson in the grand jury, has in recent days given candid interviews about the panel's work to outlets including CNN, MSNBC, and The New York Times.

Kohrs was authorized to speak to the media but not to discuss details of the special grand jury's findings, which included charging recommendations. Prosecutors may now refer the report to an ordinary grand jury to bring criminal charges.

Without naming anyone, Kohrs said the special grand jury had recommended indictments for several of the people accused of helping Trump as he sought to reverse his defeat to Joe Biden in the state.

—Andy Ostroy (@AndyOstroy) February 22, 2023

In one interview, she said: "You're not going to be shocked. It's not rocket science."

Although the special grand jury ultimately decided not to subpoena Trump, Kohrs said she thought it would have been "really cool" because she would have been the one swearing him in and would have liked to meet him.

Republican critics say the interviews show the investigation is riddled with anti-Trump bias.

CBS News reported that lawyers for witnesses in the investigation, which is being conducted by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, would seek to overturn potential indictments on the basis of Kohrs' comments.

Legal experts told the Washington Post that Kohr's comments on evaluating witnesses, on jurors fraternizing with prosecutors, and her hopes the investigation would result in charges, all gave cause for concern.

However some legal experts said Kohrs did not break any laws in the interviews, so has not compromised the investigation.

—Lisa Rubin (@lawofruby) February 22, 2023

"Emily Kohrs's pursuit of her fifteen minutes is not likely to preclude anyone indicted and convicted from serving their term of years," tweeted MSNBC legal analyst Lisa Rubin.

Insider has contacted the Fulton County DA's office for comment.

Excerpts from the grand jury's report, released earlier in February, revealed few details but found that the 2020 election in Georgia had not been marred by widespread fraud, as Trump has repeatedly claimed.

Willis announced the investigation into Trump in February 2021. The probe is looking into whether Trump and his allies may have violated state laws in seeking to persuade officials to appoint an alternative set of electors to the Electoral College, ignoring Biden's victory.

Trump is alleged to have personally pressured state officials not to certify Biden's win as part of a campaign waged on several fronts to cling to power.

Correction: February 23, 2023 — An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated the investigation was opened by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis in 2020. She announced the investigation in February 2021.

Read the original article on Business Insider

CBS News
Hannukah this year starts on Christmas Day in rare occurrence
The eight-day Jewish holiday of Hanukkah starts on Christmas Day this year, an occurrence that happens very infrequently.
NBC News
The photo booth is turning 100 — meet the people keeping it alive
In 1925, Anatol Josepho invented the automated photo booth in New York City, originally calling it a photomaton.
CBS News
Suspect who allegedly set woman on fire in subway fanned flames, prosecutors say
Authorities are revealing more details surrounding the killing of a woman who was set on fire while sleeping on the New York City subway.
CNN
Unrelenting storm train slams West Coast with powerful winds, drenching rain
A series of atmospheric river-fueled storms are pounding the West with powerful winds, drenching rain, heavy mountain snow and churning up massive waves and dangerous seas just off the coast.
CNN
15 of the best places to go for Christmas
Are you looking for fun places to go for Christmas? If you like the holidays and you like to travel, then you’ll love these 15 spots overflowing with yuletide spirit.
Associated Press
Biden signs a bill officially making the bald eagle the national bird of the US
The bald eagle, a symbol of the power and strength of the United States for more than 240 years, earned an overdue honor on Tuesday: It officially became the country's national bird. President Joe Biden signed into law legislation sent to him by Congress that amends the United States Code to correct what had long gone unnoticed and designate the bald eagle — familiar to many because of its white head, yellow beak and brown body — as the national bird. The bald eagle has appeared on the Great Seal of the United States, which is used in official documents, since 1782, when the design was finalized.
Associated Press
21 dead as Mozambique erupts in violence after election court ruling
Violence that engulfed Mozambique after the country's highest court confirmed ruling Frelimo party presidential candidate Daniel Chapo as the winner of disputed Oct. 9 elections killed at least 21 people, including two police officers, authorities said Tuesday. Mozambique Interior Minister Pascoal Ronda told a news conference in Maputo late Tuesday that a wave of violence and looting was sparked by the court's announcement a day earlier. “From the preliminary survey, in the last 24 hours, 236 acts of violence were recorded throughout the national territory that resulted in 21 deaths, of which two members of the Police of the Republic of Mozambique also died," Ronda said.
USA TODAY
'Customer appreciation': Gaetz report uses text messages to allege payments for sex
The former congressman says he's innocent. Committee report contains volumes of allegedly incriminating detail.
Associated Press
Stunning photos show lava erupting from Hawaii's Kilauea volcano
One of the world's most active volcanoes spewed lava into the air for a second straight day on Tuesday. The eruption of Kilauea volcano on Hawaii's Big Island has stayed within the mountain's summit caldera inside Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory estimated the lava was about 1 yard (1 meter) thick.
CNN
‘Ordinary people with shovels’: Volunteers cleaning Black Sea oil spill ask Putin for help
Volunteers are grappling with environmental havoc across more than 35 miles of coastline, after at least 3,700 tons of heavy oil spilled into the Kerch Strait.
Associated Press
Spain's monarch pays tribute to the victims of Valencia floods in his Christmas Eve speech
Spanish King Felipe VI used his traditional Christmas Eve speech to remember the victims of the catastrophic Valencia flash floods, and urged the country to remain calm while addressing hot-button issues such as immigration and housing affordability. In a pre-recorded speech that usually reviews the year's most relevant issues, Felipe said Spain “must never forget the pain and sadness" the floods caused. The Oct. 29 floods killed more than 225 people in eastern Spain, damaging countless homes and leaving graveyards of cars piled on top of each other.
USA TODAY
'A winter wave' of COVID could be coming as America gathers for the holidays
Is COVID going around again? The CDC's wastewater surveillance system suggests the virus is growing in prevalence.
Reuters
Syria's new foreign minister tells Iran not to spread chaos in Syria
Syria's newly appointed foreign minister, Asaad Hassan al-Shibani, told Iran on Tuesday not to spread chaos in Syria but to respect the Syrian people's will and the country's sovereignty. In a televised speech on Sunday, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called on Syrian youth to "stand with firm determination against those who have orchestrated and brought about this insecurity".
AFP
Syria authorities say armed groups have agreed to disband
Syria's new leaders announced Tuesday that they had reached an agreement with the country's rebel groups on their dissolution and integration under the defence ministry.The meeting between the rebel groups and Syria's new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa "ended in an agreement on the dissolution of all the groups and their integration under the supervision of the ministry of defence", said a statement carried by the SANA news agency and the authorities' Telegram account.
CNN
‘Australia’s Bigfoot’ watched over the small town of Kilcoy for decades. Then one day, it disappeared
The small town of Kilcoy is not the site of the first, or even the most recent, “Yowie” sighting. And hunters of Australia’s version of Bigfoot are no more likely to see it there than anywhere else in the country’s vast, rugged bushland.
Reuters
Canada condemns China's steps against Canadian institutions over Uyghurs, Tibet
The Canadian government condemned China on Tuesday for taking steps against two Canadian institutions and 20 people involved in human rights issues concerning the Uyghurs and Tibet. China announced the measures, which included asset freezes and bans on entry, on Sunday. Its targets included the Canada-based Uyghur Rights Advocacy Project and the Canada-Tibet Committee, China's foreign ministry said.
USA TODAY
'Stressed' Amazon driver leaves 80 packages in woods before Christmas, police say
A “stressed” driver for Amazon admitted to ditching about 80 packages undelivered in the woods just days before Christmas, Massachusetts police said.
NBC News
Man accused of fatally setting New York City subway rider on fire says he doesn't recall incident
The man accused of killing a New York City subway rider by setting her on fire has no memory of "what happened" and admitted to heavy drinking, authorities said Tuesday.
Associated Press
Trump vows to pursue executions after Biden commutes most of federal death row
President-elect Donald Trump promised on Tuesday to “vigorously pursue” capital punishment after President Joe Biden commuted the sentences of most people on federal death row partly to stop Trump from pushing forward their executions. Biden said converting their punishments to life imprisonment was consistent with the moratorium imposed on federal executions in cases other than terrorism and hate-motivated mass murder. “Joe Biden just commuted the Death Sentence on 37 of the worst killers in our Country,” he wrote on his social media site.
CNN
‘They didn’t want to believe the truth’: Freed pair speak out 17 years after they were wrongfully imprisoned for murder
On her first night as a free woman in 17 years, Charlotte Pleytez couldn’t sleep.

Latest Stories