Willie R. Tubbs, FISM News
A whirlwind tour might have netted a Georgia woman a brief encounter with prominence, but it might also put prosecutors’ cases in jeopardy.
Emily Kohrs, the forewoman on the grand jury tasked with examining the credibility of evidence and making a recommendation on charges against former President Donald Trump and others, has made the interview rounds on legacy media.
Whether the product of nerves associated with appearing on national television or, as Republicans are already claiming, a sadistic joy in attempting to bring down Trump and conservatives, Kohrs’ day in front of the media was as notable for how broadly she smiled and often she chuckled.
🚨 This is the foreperson of the Georgia Grand Jury that investigated Trump
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) February 22, 2023
But, beyond seeming strangely pleased to be at the center of a rather serious and somber process, Kohrs has also managed to make remarks that legal experts of all political stripes agree will almost certainly be used by defense attorneys as a rationale to request the nullification of indictments.
Those same experts are split on whether Kohrs’ actions will ultimately prove sufficient for a defense team to succeed in the effort.
During an appearance on CNN, Kohrs hinted that charges were forthcoming for someone prominent and associated with the investigation into allegations that Trump sought to illegally influence the 2020 presidential election in the Peach State.
“There may be some names on that list that you wouldn’t expect,” Kohrs said. “But the big name that everyone keeps asking me about — I don’t think you will be shocked.”
Kohrs also granted interviews to the New York Times, NBC, Associated Press, and Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
“I will tell you that if the judge releases the recommendations, it is not going to be some giant plot twist,” Kohrs told the Times. “You probably have a fair idea of what may be in there.”
With no indictments yet announced, this is the forewoman of the Trump grand jury in Georgia. Gets a little giggly at the end. https://t.co/ek2MDHNZPW
— Byron York (@ByronYork) February 22, 2023
Kohrs caused several brows to furrow when she said she would be “disappointed” if no charges were filed — a fact she attributed to the fact that she’d dedicated a substantial amount of time to the process.
And, she went as far as to mock Trump, who has claimed his innocence and has stated he would receive “total exoneration” from the grand jury.
“Did he really say that?” Kohrs asked the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “Oh, that’s fantastic. That’s phenomenal. I love it.”
It’s important to note that nothing Kohrs did was illegal under Georgia law — she would have had to reveal the details of deliberations to have committed a crime.
However, what she said, in combination with the way she said it — one can hardly undersell just how joyful Kohrs came across — has given the distinct impression, fair or unfair, that she is a partisan against Trump, which will allow defense attorneys to question her impartiality.
Those claims will only gain steam now that Kohrs has revealed she received, per statements she made to the Journal-Constitution, a popsicle from and taken part in an ice cream party thrown by the office of District Attorney Fani Willis.
This is an innocuous enough sounding factoid, but it’s also one that could be used to suggest that too chummy a relationship existed between the D.A.’s office and the citizens tasked with measuredly assessing evidence and claims.
BLABBING, RECKLESS, AND UNHELPFUL
As reported in more detail by Newsweek, numerous legal experts have lined up to criticize Kohrs. The most strident of the critics is former Justice Department inspector general Michael Bromwich.
“She was a reckless idiot for doing what she did,” Bromwich tweeted. He later added, “If she did this in the federal system, she would be prosecuted.”
If she did this in the federal system, she would be prosecuted. https://t.co/dvsnHIqw62
— Michael R. Bromwich (@mrbromwich) February 22, 2023
Barbara McQuade, a former federal prosecutor, wrote in an analysis for MSNBC that Kohrs likely has not prevented charges from being filed and that it is unlikely a case would be thrown out based on what Kohrs has said.
However, the fact that Kohrs provided any avenue that could lead to a dismissal troubled McQuade.
“A blabbing grand jury threatens to upend the whole enterprise,” McQuade wrote.
At some point, impropriety by a grand jury could be grounds for a claim of violation of the due process rights of the accused. 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.
Neama Rahmani, another former federal prosecutor, said Kohrs’ actions would not impact the filing of charges and likely would not harm a prosecution, but that the forewoman’s behavior is a nightmare public relations scenario.
“Kohrs’ media tour isn’t helpful, and 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,” Rahmani said.
Trump might have beat Rahmani to the punch. His first public reaction to the Kohrs tour, which appeared on Truth Social, contained exactly those sentiments.
“This Georgia case is ridiculous, a strictly political continuation of the greatest Witch Hunt of all time,” Trump wrote.
Now you have an extremely energetic young woman, the (get this!) ‘foreperson’ of the Racist D.A.’s Special Grand Jury, going around and doing a Media Tour revealing, incredibly, the Grand Jury’s inner workings & thoughts. This is not JUSTICE, this is an illegal Kangaroo Court.
As previously reported by FISM, Willis announced last month that a decision on whether to file charges against Trump is “imminent.”