‘Criminalization Of Political Speech’: Jonathan Turley Weighs In On ‘Tainted’ Georgia Grand Jury’s Recommendations
'The criminalization of political speech'
Emily Kohrs seemed to enjoy her brief moment in the spotlight.
Kohrs, the forewoman for a special grand jury empaneled in Georgia to investigate former President Donald Trump's alleged meddling in the 2020 election, spoke to numerous media outlets on Tuesday, revealing details about the special grand jury proceedings.
But her bizarre interviews left legal experts grimacing.
The 30-year-old told NBC News, for example, that the list of recommended indictments is "not a short list."
"I don’t think that there are any giant plot twists coming. I don’t think there's any giant 'that's not the way I expected this to go at all’ moments," she said. "I would not expect you to be shocked."
When asked if Trump's name is on that list, she played coy. "Potentially. It might," she said.
In a separate interview with CNN, she reiterated those same points: that people will not be surprised about the outcome of the investigation and that Trump was a centerpiece of the investigation.
But it was her giggling and bizarre comments that raised eyebrows. At one point in her interview with NBC, Kohrs suggested that she hoped Trump would have been subpoenaed to testify before the special grand jury so she could have had the honor of administering him the oath.
"I wanted to hear from the former president. But honestly, I kinda wanted to subpoena the former president because I got to swear everybody in, and so I thought it'd be really cool to get 60 seconds with President Trump, of me looking at him and being like, 'Do you solemnly swear,' and me getting to swear him in — I kinda just thought that'd be an awesome moment," she said.
Watch The Last Word With Lawrence O’Donnell Highlights: Feb. 21 youtu.be
In another odd moment, Kohrs told NBC that the "coolest moment" of her time on the special grand jury was "shaking Rudy Giuliani's hand."
Former assistant U.S. Attorney Elie Honig called Kohrs' interviews a "prosecutor's nightmare," not least because she was making light of potential indictments.
"This is a horrible idea. And I guarantee you that prosecutors are wincing, watching her hint at stuff," Honig said on CNN. "It's painful in that respect. This is a very serious prospect here. We're talking about indicting any person. You're talking about potentially taking away that person's liberty. We're talking about potentially a former president, for the first time in this nation's history. She does not seem to be taking that very seriously."
"It's a prosecutor's nightmare," Honig declared, predicting attorneys would use her testimony to disqualify potential indictments.
Renato Mariotti, another former federal prosecutor, agreed.
"It is still a very bad idea," he tweeted of Kohrs talking to the media, "may carry legal risk for her, and will likely provide Trump and others with arguments to challenge the indictments."
Georgia prohibits jurors from discussing jury deliberations, something Kohrs appears not to have done explicitly.
What legal experts predicted quickly came true.
"CBS News has learned that lawyers close to several GOP witnesses in Fulton Co. investigation are preparing to move to quash any possible indictments by DA based on the public statements by the forewoman of the special grand jury, per two people familiar with the discussions," CBS News reporter Robert Costa revealed on Wednesday.
The special grand jury completed eight months of service last month and turned over its recommendations to Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. It is now up to her whether to pursue the case further, including through an actual grand jury with indictment powers.
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