Fulton County District Attorney Says Charging Decisions In Trump Investigation To Come This Summer

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis said she will announce this summer whether former President Donald Trump and others would be charged in the investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election. 

In a letter Monday to the Fulton County Sheriff's Office, Willis asked law enforcement to increase security in the coming months, adding that any charges would be announced between July 11 and Sept. 1. 

"I am providing this letter to bring to your attention the need for heightened security and preparedness in coming months due to this pending announcement," Willis said. 

She said open-source intelligence has indicated that an announcement on any potential charges in the case "may provoke a significant public reaction." 

Willis also noted that in recent years, some have gone "outside of public expressions of opinion that are protected by the First Amendment to engage in acts of violence that will endanger the safety our community."

"As leaders, it is incumbent upon us to prepare," she said. "Please accept this correspondence as notice to allow you sufficient time to prepare the Sheriff's Office and coordinate with local, state and federal agencies to ensure that our law enforcement community is ready to protect the public." 

A special purpose grand jury investigated alleged election meddling by Trump and his allies after Trump lost the 2020 election. The investigation, in part, was sparked by a phone call between Trump and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger on Jan. 2, 2021, in which Trump said: "I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have. Because we won the state."

Trump has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and said the conversation was "an absolutely PERFECT phone call." 

The special grand jury heard from 75 witnesses, including Trump adviser Rudy Giuliani and former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows. 

The case must still be presented to a regular sitting grand jury. The next Fulton County grand jury will be sworn in on the first Tuesday in May.

The special purpose grand jury had the power to investigate but not to indict. Court papers filed by Willis' office last week revealed that the D.A.'s office is continuing its investigation, particularly regarding the so-called false electors who signed a certificate that incorrectly declared that Trump had won Georgia's electoral votes in the 2020 election instead of Joe Biden.

Nikole Killion, Graham Kates and Henry Schuster contributed to this report.

Read Willis' letter here: