'A big freaking deal': Key grand juror offers details from Trump Georgia investigation

21 February 2023

Emily Kohrs, a key grand juror in former President Donald Trump's Georgia investigation offered telling insight into her experience probing whether Trump and his GOP allies unlawfully interfered with Georgia's 2020 election votes, The Associated Press (AP) reports.

The investigation, which mainly centers around the former president's request for Georgia election officials to "find 11,780 votes" for him, recently found "'one or more witnesses' committed perjury and urged local prosecutors to bring charges" against the witnesses, according to part of the jury's final report that was released.

Kohrs, a 30-year-old Fulton County resident, who prefers not to identify with any political party, said she realized the investigation was "a big freaking deal" during an intense escort to her car.

The AP reports:

[The jurors] were led down a staircase into a garage beneath a downtown Atlanta courthouse, where officers with big guns were waiting. From there, they were ushered into vans with heavily tinted windows and driven to their cars under police escort.

For almost a year, Kohrs and the rest of the juror panel have heard 75 witnesses — from GOP leaders to Georgia election workers — testify, but she noted "Trump was not a battle we picked to fight."

The AP reports:

Trump’s attorneys have said he was never asked to testify. Kohrs said the grand jury wanted to hear from the former president but didn’t have any real expectation that he would offer meaningful testimony.

As for the 75 witnesses, Kohrs said, “I didn’t want to characterize anyone before they walked in the room,” she said. “I felt they all deserved an impartial listener.”

The juror described what she observed about several key witnesses including Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who she said was “a really geeky kind of funny," and Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, who "seemed unhappy to be there." She said the late Georgia State House Speaker David Ralston "was hilarious and had the room in stitches."

Kohrs also mentioned some key witnesses took immunity deals. South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham dodged testimony at first, but "surprised" her during his testimony "when he politely answered questions and even joked with jurors."

The AP reports:

When witnesses refused to answer almost every question, the lawyers would engage in what Kohrs came to think of as “show and tell.” The lawyers would show video of the person appearing on television or testifying before the U.S. House committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, periodically asking the witness to confirm certain things.

Trump attorney and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Kohrs noted "was funny" and also dodged questions, but he "'genuinely seemed to consider' whether it was merited before declining to answer," according to The AP.

Kohrs noted “I fully stand by our report as our decision and our conclusion."

The Associated Press' full report is available at this link.

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