General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Remember [View all]BumRushDaShow
(170,588 posts)Yeah, the "legal gimmickry" is that neither the AG nor DOJ "indicts". A federal grand jury does. There could be anywhere up to 20+ people impaneled on it and they meet certain times of a month for maybe a week or two to hear the evidence and question witnesses. It is a "one sided" prosecutor's show, where they have to convince the jury that charges should be brought and why.
They are not like criminal or civil juries that meet every day and are treated to a prosecution and defense back and forth, and then deliberating towards a verdict, with a judge shepherding the process. They might be kept in service for a year or more depending on what they were tasked with.
One of my co-workers was on one here in Philly a number of years ago and he had explained the odd process and frequency of meeting for the one he was part of. His service was on and off for a year.
Here's a brief blip about them - https://www.npr.org/2005/10/26/4975837/how-federal-grand-juries-work