Fulton County judges approve special grand jury for district attorney's probe of Trump

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The Fulton County Superior Court approved a request from Democrat Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to impanel a special grand jury for a criminal investigation into former President Trump's possible efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia.

Christopher S. Brasher, who is chief judge of court, explained that the majority of judges on the court agreed to the request, which Willis submitted last week, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

"The special purpose grand jury shall be authorized to investigate any and all facts and circumstances relating directly or indirectly to alleged violations of the laws of the State of Georgia," Brasher wrote. The judge also explained that the special grand jury will be impaneled on May 2 and cannot exceed more than a year.

Former President Donald Trump speaks at a rally on September 25, 2021 in Perry, Georgia. (Photo by Sean Rayford/Getty Images)

The special grand jury will have the power to issue subpoenas and will be focused on collecting evidence in Georgia prosecutors' investigation into the former president.

In her request, Willis had argued that a special grand jury was needed because a "significant number of witnesses and prospective witnesses have refused to cooperate with the investigation absent a subpoena requiring their testimony." One of those witnesses is Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, whose Jan. 2 phone call with Trump features as a key part of the investigation.

Former President Donald Trump speaks at a rally on September 25, 2021, in Perry, Georgia. (Photo by Sean Rayford/Getty Images)

TRUMP URGED GEORGIA ELECTION OFFICIAL TO 'FIND' ENOUGH VOTES TO OVERTURN ELECTION RESULTS

Willis intends to decide whether to bring charges against the former president within the first half of the year.

During the call with Raffensperger, Trump insisted he won the state of Georgia in the 2020 presidential race, though officials certified Biden's win there multiple times.

"All I want to do is this," Trump told Raffensperger. "I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have. Because we won the state."

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger discusses his new book, "Integrity Counts," during an interview on Thursday, Oct. 28, 2021, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Ron Harris)

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In an interview with Fox News at the time, Raffensperger confirmed that the phone call took place and said that he told Trump he would have needed to find voter irregularities in other states to find enough voter irregularities to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

Fox News' Brooke Singman and Griff Jenkins contributed to this report.