By Steve BermanWhen Fulton County DA was picking members for the special grand jury, my wife had jury duty, about a month after I did. We live in Fulton County. I prayed hard that neither of us would show up on the fated day and be selected. God forbid, and I’m glad it was other people. I figured the media attention and potential threats from being on such a public legal panel would be unhelpful to our family life. Plus, with my writing history about The Former Guy, I didn’t think anyone in their right mind would select me anyway (but my wife was fair game).
What I didn’t see coming was the foreperson of the special grand jury going on a grand media tour, a left-circle of MSNBC, CNN, the New York Times, and other outlets, hinting—without outright saying it—that the gavel is coming for Donald J. Trump.
Lots of smarter people have given their opinions on what kind of harm that would do to Willis’ potential case against Trump. Former federal prosecutor Andrew McCarthy believes it’s of minimal impact, from a legal perspective. Breaking the veil of secrecy of a grand jury—and this one didn’t have indictment power, only recommendations—is a serious breach, but it doesn’t necessarily “poison” the case, as Trump’s legal team asserted.
But Trump’s case is not being tried in a courtroom—at least not yet. And even if it reached a courtroom, the case is based on public opinion more than a jury’s verdict. If a jury convicted Trump of election interference in Fulton County, Georgia, it wouldn’t stop Trump from continuing his campaign. No judge in the world would remand the Republican frontrunner (at this time at least) to a jail cell, and any judge insane enough to try would be overruled immediately by sane judges.
So, what is going on in the mind of Emily Kohrs, the jury foreperson to go out and do this press tour? Who is she?
We know she’s 30 years old, and unemployed. Pretty thin.
I happen to have the 2020 voting file for the entire state of Georgia—it’s public record. What I don’t see is Emily Kohrs listed as having voted. I don’t see her in Fulton County; I don’t see her in any county. From what I can see, she didn’t vote. I can’t determine if she registered as a Republican or a Democrat (though perhaps I don’t have the right file, or the most updated version).
Emily Kohrs is a political cipher, which is perfect if you want someone unbiased to be the foreperson of a special grand jury. But she’s a bit of a nutcase, too, which you definitely don’t want. But the question of her motivation is front and center, and very relevant.
If Kohrs wanted to put Trump away, she’d know that the best way to do it is to listen to the lawyers, and let them indict, try, and convict him. But maybe she thought the lawyers need some help. Maybe she thought she knows better. Maybe she wants to be a martyr, and have the Trumpists go after her. It’s only a matter of time before she’s doxxed (if it hasn’t happened already).
Maybe Kohrs has a different motivation. Maybe she wants to save Trump. Maybe she was influenced to do it, which of course would be illegal. But a man who paid off Stormy Daniels to shut up, and colluded with the owner of the National Enquirer, would see no problem in offering Ms. Kohrs some kind of quid pro quo to go out and publicly expose the left-leaning media in their salivating glory to have someone who was “in the room where it happened” talking circumspectly about Trump and his buddies’ demise.
It’s not like core Trumpists are going to stop listening to MSNBC or reading the New York Times—they already don’t. But it could freeze some other candidates from entering the race, or keep President Joe Biden from announcing, pending “what’s next?” It throws the political calculus into chaos, and keeps Trump in the news cycle. These are all things consistent with Trump’s modus operandi.
I’m sure the Fulton County DA’s office is in touch with all the special grand jurors to ensure their safety and the integrity of their work. I’m sure that they are talking to Kohrs. If I were an investigator working for Fani Willis, I’d be wondering what is going on with the political cipher and loose cannon in their midst. I’d be watching the unemployed 30 year old’s bank accounts, assets, purchases, and demeanor.
Then again, Emily Kohrs just might be a nutcase. There’s plenty to go around, especially dealing with Donald Trump. It’s like they’re attracted to him. I don’t have to wonder too hard why.
Follow Steve on Twitter @stevengberman.
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