A court hearing is held as to whether the Fulton County special purpose grand jury’s final report can be made public right now.
The most recent episode of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Breakdown podcast covers the hearing. Episode 23 — “Decisions Are Imminent” — of Breakdown’s ninth season, “The Trump Grand Jury,” also includes an interview with a former Atlanta prosecutor who explains why he thinks bringing indictments would set a dangerous precedent.
At the hearing, Fulton District Attorney Fani Willis has the first word, asking Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney to keep it under seal, at least for the time being.
“Often when a prosecutor is in a trial courtroom, they find themselves in this position of not only protecting the rights of the victims, the witness and the community, but making sure that defendants’ rights are protected, too,” Willis said.
The comment made it seem as if Willis is prepared to seek indictments against multiple people under investigation. She also said, “decisions are imminent.”
Atlanta lawyer Tom Clyde, representing The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and more than a dozen other major news outlets, tells McBurney he should release the report immediately.
“There’s enormous public interest in what they have said, and that exists in this state,” Clyde said. “It exists across the nation. It exists beyond the nation. And we believe the statutory law supports its public release right now.”
Before the hearing, former President Donald Trump’s lawyers make their first public statement in months and Trump himself posts on social media condemning the investigation and insisting once again he did nothing wrong.
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