Time To Quash the Trump Prosecution in Georgia

The right move for Georgia — in the face of the runaway grand jury forewoman — is to end its criminal pursuit of President Trump. It’s just hard to see how the state can impanel a grand jury to fairly make a proper decision on whether to charge the former president after the media tour undertaken by the forewoman of the special grand jury, which has taken a preliminary look at the suspected attempt to interfere with the state’s vote count in 2020. The runaway forewoman, Emily Kohrs, headed a grand jury tasked with making confidential recommendations for a charging grand jury. Yet today Ms. Kohrs mused on CNN that “there may be some names on that list that you wouldn’t expect. But the big name that everyone keeps asking me about — I don’t think you will be shocked.” When told by the Atlanta Constitution of Mr. Trump’s claims of innocence, she “rolled her eyes” and “burst out laughing.”“Did he really say that?” Ms. Kohrs guffawed. “Oh, that’s fantastic. That’s phenomenal. I love it.” What has the district attorney, Fani Willis, been thinking in allowing this kind of behavior while grand jury deliberations are supposed to be secret — to protect not only witnesses but the individuals potentially to be charged? It’s just shocking behavior, every bit as much so as President Trump’s phone call looking for a few thousand more votes.Now, Robert Costa, of CBS, reports that “lawyers close to several GOP witnesses” in the Fulton County investigation “are preparing to move to quash any possible indictments by [the] DA based on the public statements by the forewoman of the special grand jury.” That is reasonable, given the glaring violations of the secrecy for grand juries that is etched in the law. What is the judge in this case thinking as all this is happening?We carry no brief for Mr. Trump, as we note at every turn. We’ve always understood his vulnerability. It’s easy to see, though, why he took to Truth Social to lambast the latest turn of events. He’s noting how Ms. Kohrs is “going around and doing a Media Tour revealing, incredibly, the Grand Jury’s inner workings & thoughts.” Mr. Trump has hit the nail on the head — even if it means that he might very well have caught a break, deserved or not. The secrecy of grand jury deliberations are as close as the law gets to sacrosanct, a mandate for discretion in Georgia’s state laws, federal law, and common law going back centuries. That cloak of silence is intended to protect the due process rights of the not-yet-indicted, along with those who never will be charged. That is salient in this case, as Ms. Kohrs’s jury did not itself have the power to hand up charges.Another body, or Ms. Willis herself, will have — or would have had — to take that step. Judge Robert McBurney, though, has warned that the specific charging recommendations are for the “District Attorney’s eyes only — for now.” How can he make that pronouncement and then permit Ms. Willis to carry on as if the well hasn’t been poisoned? While Georgia allows petit jurors to reflect on their experience, grand jurors almost never.So consequences are called for. Call it a teaching moment on the Constitution and on justice itself. Ms. Kohrs’s volubility, to our eyes, calls for Ms. Willis to address the fact that her office has lost its moral authority in this case. Trying the country’s most notable civilian was always going to be a minefield, given his polarizing persona and the necessity of fielding a jury untainted by bias. Given the way the forewoman talked, the logic is for Mr. Trump to walk.

Time To Quash the Trump Prosecution in Georgia

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