Legal experts criticized Fulton County, Georgia, election probe grand jury foreperson Emily Kohrs’ recent media appearances, with two suggesting to the Daily Caller News Foundation that her conduct could harm the case’s legal process.
The grand jury investigated former President Donald Trump and his allies’ alleged efforts to overturn the state’s 2020 presidential election results, and Kohrs has given a variety of press interviews since publicly identifying herself Tuesday. Famed lawyer Alan Dershowitz told the DCNF she could be jeopardizing the validity of potential indictments in the case. (RELATED: Trump Rages Against ‘RINO Network’ Fox News For Covering DeSantis’ Law Enforcement Speech)
FILE PHOTO: Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis speaks at a news conference in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., May 11, 2021. REUTERS/Linda So/File Photo
Korhs said Tuesday on NBC News that the grand jury’s recommended list of indictments was “not a short” one and definitely featured “some names you expect,” “potentially” including Trump. In an MSNBC appearance, she recalled “kind of” wanting to subpoena Trump, adding, “I thought it would be really cool to get 60 seconds with President Trump, of me looking at him and being like, ‘Do you solemnly swear?’”
The Associated Press and The New York Times both interviewed Korhs. She admitted to CNN that she would “be sad if nothing happens” to Trump, considering how much of her and others’ time the case has occupied.
Kohrs, whose Facebook profile says she is from Alpharetta, Georgia, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that a “longtime interest in politics” prompted to her volunteer for the grand jury, though she has never voted. Manhattan Institute Senior Fellow Ilya Shapiro called her media tour “highly unusual.”
“It’s unclear whether Kohrs violated her secrecy oath—from what I’ve seen, her discussion of the decision not to call Trump as a witness was the most questionable item—but still this kind of publicity will throw the legal process following any indictments into disarray,” Shapiro told the DCNF.
Trump defense lawyers Drew Findling and Jennifer Little argued Korhs’ media appearances undermined the investigation’s credibility, indicating they were open to responding with court filings, the Journal-Constitution reported. Heritage Foundation Legal Fellow John Malcom told the DCNF that Kohrs is “acting foolishly” in commenting about how particular witnesses in the case acted and hinting at indictments.
“While such misguided comments by the grand jury foreperson may provide some fodder for the defense attorneys if individuals are ultimately charged, I do not think, based on what she has said thus far (although she may not be done talking), that any indictments would ultimately be imperiled,” Malcom said. “For starters, Ms. Kohrs did not (so far) identify any particular individuals or charges contained in the grand jury’s report. Moreover, this grand jury was not a charging body; it heard evidence and made recommendations to the district attorney, who will make the ultimate decisions about who she thinks should be charged and she will ask a totally different grand jury to return indictments.”
MSNBC columnist and former prosecutor Barbara McQuade argued in a Thursday opinion article that “a blabbing grand jury threatens to upend” Fulton County District Attorney Willis’ reportedly “imminent” indictment decisions.
“At some point, impropriety by a grand jury could be grounds for a claim of violation of the due process rights of the accused,” McQuade said. “And a successful claim could taint anything that occurred afterward, requiring dismissal of any indictments and a complete do-over, so long as the statute of limitations has not yet run. This remains an unlikely scenario but one that should not be risked, especially when the stakes are so high.”
Former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani told Newsweek that Korhs’ media tour “feeds into Trump’s argument that the grand jury investigation is a political witch hunt by a Democratic district attorney and the left-leaning mainstream news media.” However, he said, “Setting aside the bad optics, it won’t have much of a legal effect on a potential indictment.”
Korhs did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.
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