July 31 (UPI) — A Georgia judge on Monday shot down an attempt by former President Donald Trump to quash an investigation into his alleged attempts to overturn his 2020 election loss in the state.
In a nine-page order, Judge Robert McBurney of the Fulton County Superior Court turned aside a request by Trump’s lawyers to disqualify District Attorney Fani Willis from any further involvement in the case.
The former president’s attorneys had argued that Willis’ actions are politically motivated and that a report produced by a special grand jury she impaneled is unconstitutional. Their probe violated “the principles of fundamental fairness and due process” while Willis is guilty of “forensic misconduct” and “improper extrajudicial activity,” Trump claimed.
McBurney, however, disagreed in his ruling. Rather, he said the request is premature because neither Trump nor another plaintiff in the case, pro-Trump “alternate” presidential elector Cathleen Latham, have been indicted yet.
“Having reviewed the pleadings, the court now finds that neither Trump nor Latham enjoys standing to mount a challenge — at this pre-indictment phase of the proceedings — to the continued investigation into and potential prosecution of possible criminal interference in the 2020 general election in Georgia,” he wrote.
“[W]hile being the subject (or even target) of a highly publicized criminal investigation is likely an unwelcome and unpleasant experience, no court ever has held that that status alone provides a basis for the courts to interfere with or halt the investigation,” he added.
Willis has spent months probing claims that Trump meddled in the state’s voting process during the 2020 presidential election, including asking Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find” more than 11,000 votes in order to change the outcome of the election in the state to his favor.
Trump has said that he did nothing wrong in that call, which he has described as “perfect.”
Monday’s ruling comes two weeks after another legal setback for Trump in Georgia when the state’s Supreme Court rejected a similar bid to block Willis’ investigation.
In that case, Trump’s lawyers also claimed Willis violated Georgia’s rules governing grand juries. They said the motion was filed because it was justified by “extraordinary circumstances,” but the high court ruled Trump had made “no showing that he has been prevented fair access to the ordinary channels.”
Willis has indicated a decision on whether to charge the former president will be coming soon, likely sometime in August.
“The work is accomplished,” Willis told WXIA-TV in Atlanta on Saturday. “We’ve been working for two-and-a-half years. We’re ready to go.”
