DA Willis deflects question about indictment post before grand jury vote: 'Can't tell you anything'

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis on Monday night deflected a question about how a draft of the indictment was posted to the county's website hours before the grand jury began voting to charge former President Donald Trump and 18 others.

She was asked during a press conference, after the 98-page indictment was made public, about why a draft of the document was posted on the county court's website, then quickly removed.

"I can't tell you anything about what you refer to," Willis said. "What I can tell you is that we had a grand jury here in Fulton County. They deliberated to almost eight o'clock, if not right at eight o'clock. At three o'clock a sealed indictment was returned. I am not an expert on clerk duties or even administrators duties. ... So I'm not going to speculate."

The charges accuse Trump and 18 others of participating in a broad conspiracy to challenge the 2020 election results.

The court said Monday afternoon after the leak: "The Office of the Fulton County Clerk [of] Superior and Magistrate Courts has learned of a fictitious document that has been circulated online and reported by various media outlets to The Fulton County Special Purpose Grand Jury.

"While there have been no documents filed today regarding such, all members of the media should be reminded that documents that do not bear an official case number, filing date, and the name of The Clerk of Courts, in concert, are not considered official filings and should not be treated as such."

Trump attorneys Drew Findling and Jennifer Little said the district attorney's office "has once again shown that they have no respect for the integrity of the grand jury process" and the leak was "not a simple administrative mistake." 

In addition to Trump, charges were also filed against former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, former Trump attorney and New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, pastor Stephen Lee, Georgia election official Misty Hampton, publicist Trevian Kutti, former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark, Trump campaign official Mike Roman, poll watcher Scott Hall, Black Voices for Trump leader Harrison Floyd, attorneys Jenna Ellis, John Eastman, Kenneth Chesebro, Ray Smith, Robert Cheeley, and Sidney Powell; and would-be Trump electors Shawn Still, Cathy Latham, and David Shafer.

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