The next is a transcript of an interview with Drew Findling and Jennifer Little, attorneys for former President Donald Trump, that aired on “Face the Nation” on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2023.
MARGARET BRENNAN: The investigation of Former President Trump in Fulton County, Georgia took a wierd flip final week — and Mr. Trump’s legal professionals now argue it might impression a doable trial. At the middle of the controversy: Emily Kohrs, the forewoman for the particular grand jury that investigated alleged election interference in Georgia by Trump and his allies. Kohrs gave a number of interviews wherein she hinted that greater than a dozen key gamers, maybe even the former president, may need been really useful for indictments. Now, particular grand juries cannot indict, however that advice might immediate the District Legal professional to create a felony grand jury. The choose overseeing the case advised CNN final week that though the deliberations are confidential, “what witnesses stated, what you place in the report, these will not be off limits” to these on the jury. The attorneys for President Trump in the Georgia case had not given an interview to any TV community, however the Kohrs media tour prompted them to speak to our Robert Costa.
EMILY KOHRS TO NBC NEWS: I type of needed to subpoena the former president, as a result of I bought to swear all people in. And so I assumed it might be actually cool to get 60 seconds with President Trump.
CNN REPORTER: Did you advocate prices towards Donald Trump?
EMILY KOHRS TO CNN: I actually do not need to share one thing that the choose made a aware resolution to not share.
ROBERT COSTA: May Emily Kohrs’ public disclosures jeopardize the case that could possibly be introduced by Fulton County District Legal professional Fani Willis? Kohrs is a part of a “particular goal” grand jury that heard months of testimony from greater than 75 witnesses about alleged Republican efforts to strain state officers like Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to overturn President Biden’s victory in Georgia.
AUDIO CLIP: TRUMP- RAFFENSPERGER AUDIO: “Look Brad, I gotta get, I’ve to search out 12,000 votes, and I’ve them.”
ROBERT COSTA: Kohrs advised the particular grand jury submitted a report back to Willis final month that really useful a number of indictments on a spread of prices. However Willis has but to resolve whether or not or to not convene a felony grand jury that would concern indictments towards some Trump allies, and even the former president himself.
Drew Findling and Jennifer Little head up the former president’s authorized staff in the Georgia case. They are saying that Emily Kohrs’ media tour has tainted any try by District Legal professional Willis to maneuver towards charging Trump.
ROBERT COSTA: What are your choices?
DREW FINDLING: Are the outcomes of that particular goal grand jury to be crumbled up like a chunk of paper and thrown right into a wastepaper basket? Our choices are, can this district legal professional’s workplace proceed to be a part of this case? We’ve to legally analysis all of these points.
ROBERT COSTA: Have you ever misplaced confidence in the district legal professional?
DREW FINDLING: We have misplaced 100% confidence on this course of. We really feel this course of has been compromised
COSTA NARRATING: Emily Kohrs, they are saying, is to not blame.
DREW FINDLING: This 30-year-old particular person, to us, has truly offered us a lens and made us conscious that each suspicion we had as to this questionable course of was in reality a actuality.
ROBERT COSTA: However she did not break any guidelines although, proper? She might have damaged a norm however the grand jury was over by the time she went on this media tour, as you place it. So what did she do improper in your view legally?
DREW FINDLING: We’ve no chagrin in the direction of this foreperson. And it appears like they misplaced perspective over protecting separation between prosecuting attorneys and the members of this grand jury. There can’t be a relationship. When the foreperson makes use of the phrase ‘we’ that allows you to know there is a relationship there. When she says in interviews ‘sure battles weren’t value us battling,’ it isn’t the particular goal grand jury that is litigating, it is the district legal professional’s workplace.
ROBERT COSTA: She stated it would not be value the battle, they determined to name your consumer in, former President Trump, in as a witness.
DREW FINDLING: And, and –
ROBERT COSTA: That is a press release she made.
DREW FINDLING: Proper, and- and who is aware of what that’s based mostly on.
ROBERT COSTA: He wasn’t known as in the particular grand jury a part of this investigation. Did that shock you? And if he was known as, would you’ve gotten fought that subpoena?
JENNIFER LITTLE: I am not going to talk to what our authorized selections would have been. But it surely was shocking and notably as soon as we heard the explanation why he wasn’t known as, after we had our foreperson of this grand jury talking about how excited and cool it might have been to have the ability to have a look at Donald Trump, the former president of the United States, for 60 seconds, however that they simply decided that given the assets and the different witnesses that they’d heard of, that they simply did not have to have any extra proof at that time. It is regarding that that was the degree of diligence that was proven in that call, and it was shocking frankly.
ROBERT COSTA NARRATING: If former President Trump is indicted, Willis can actually anticipate a authorized battle from Trump’s legal professionals.
JENNIFER LITTLE: We completely don’t imagine that our consumer did something improper, and if any indictments have been to return down, these are defective indictments. We are going to completely battle something tooth and nail.
ROBERT COSTA NARRATING: Willis and the district legal professional’s workplace declined to remark for “Face the Nation.”
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