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Emily Kohrs, the foreperson of the special grand jury in the Georgia election meddling investigation, “first spoke out in an interview published Tuesday by The Associated Press, a story that was followed by interviews in other print and television news outlets. In detailed commentary, she described some of what happened behind the closed doors of the jury room — how witnesses behaved, how prosecutors interacted with them, how some invoked their constitutional right not to answer certain questions.” AP News
Both sides are critical of the forewoman’s statements:
“As a former prosecutor, I am mortified that a grand juror is talking about it publicly… Even more alarming were some of the things Kohrs said about her own experience. She said she swore in one witness while holding a Ninja Turtle ice pop she had received at the district attorney’s office ice cream party. A what?! Why on Earth would grand jurors be socializing with the prosecutors? A grand jury is an independent body, and prosecutors are trained to maintain a professional distance and avoid engaging in interactions that could be perceived as influencing their decisions…
“She reported that when witnesses invoked their Fifth Amendment right to refrain from answering questions on the basis that their answers might incriminate them, she could hear all of the other grand jurors writing furiously. This could indicate that jurors were improperly holding the assertion of a constitutional right against witnesses. She said another member of the grand jury brought a newspaper into the room every day and pointed out stories about their investigation, though she herself avoided news coverage to maintain an open mind. I can only imagine the skyrocketing blood pressure of District Attorney Fani Willis.”
Barbara McQuade, MSNBC
“Ms. Kohrs is doing a disservice to impartial justice. The Atlanta paper reports that she swore in one witness while ‘holding a Ninja Turtle Popsicle she had just received at an ice cream party thrown by the DA’s office.’ She said serving on the jury was ‘really cool.’ Ms. Kohrs said she has never voted, although she told the AP she tends to agree more with Democrats…
“None of this is ‘really cool.’ Recommending to put any fellow citizen on trial, and maybe in prison, is serious business, and this case happens to involve a former President and current 2024 candidate. We wonder why the DA couldn’t persuade Ms. Kohrs about her obligation to stay silent, and the blabbering won’t help her case.”
Editorial Board, Wall Street Journal
Other opinions below.
“When jurors are selected at random from lists of English-speaking, adult U.S. citizens who reside in a particular county and haven’t served on a jury in the past year, there’s always the chance that the foreperson of the jury will turn out to be a 30-year-old woman who is between jobs, who has never voted, and who appears thrilled to be the center of attention…
“This is our fame-obsessed culture at work. Grand jurors aren’t supposed to be famous, even though what they do is enormously consequential and often a subject of great public interest. When you’re selected to serve on a jury or a grand jury on a huge criminal case, your first priority and obligation must be the law and justice…“If, after the verdict is rendered, you want to do some interviews, let the public know how you interpreted the evidence and arguments of the case, that’s fine. But the point of the process is not to turn you into a star or a celebrity.”
Jim Geraghty, National Review
“I’m not sure if she’s just really nervous or if she actually has the personality of a teenage girl, but nothing about this makes the grand jury in Georgia look good or credible. Instead, it makes the process look like a joke, propagated by people desperately pushing a political fight in the legal arena. This was the kind of person that was allowed onto the grand jury? What’s that say about the prosecution’s pursuit as a whole? The answer is nothing good.”
Bonchie, RedState
“Georgia does instruct jurors to ‘keep the deliberations of the grand jury secret.’ But the state’s Supreme Court has explained that ‘deliberations’ are quite limited. They do not include ‘all things coming to (a) person’s knowledge as a result of grand jury attendance.’ In fact, grand jury members are not ‘bound to secrecy regarding the evidence presented to a grand jury’ – just their discussions with each other…
“There are also unique considerations because Kohrs was the foreperson of a special grand jury – and a partial report about its investigation was already released. Georgia law expressly authorizes the publication of special grand jury reports and recommendations… Her display has been unseemly, to say the least. It has violated good taste – but not the law.”
Norm Eisen & Fred Wertheimer, CNN
At the same time, “we’ve already seen how wayward actions and comments by those involved in investigating and potentially prosecuting Trump can prove significant in legal proceedings. That includes in Fulton County, where District Attorney Fani Willis was barred from investigating one of Trump’s ‘fake electors,’ a GOP candidate for lieutenant governor, after hosting a fundraiser for his Democratic opponent… Everyone involved should probably measure their desire to get a sense for where this process is headed against the potential impacts of getting such hints.”
Aaron Blake, Washington Post
