Georgia court dismisses Trump’s plea to stop probe into 2020 election subversion efforts
Donald Trump
A judge in Georgia has rejected former US president Donald Trump’s motion to stop a criminal investigation into his efforts to subvert the 2020 presidential election in the state and dismiss Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.
Judge Robert McBurney, in his nine-page ruling on Monday (July 31), also rejected efforts by Cathy Latham, who served as one of the GOP fake electors in Georgia, to join Trump’s push.
Trump lacks legal standing
The judge said that both lacked legal standing to push for complete prohibition of investigation when the indictment proceedings haven’t even started 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,” the judge wrote in the order, according to CNN.
Further, the order said that Trump's legal argument was "insufficient because, while being the subject (or even target) of a highly publicised 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 investigations."
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Trump slammed
Judge McBurney also slammed Trump’s legal team over repeated efforts to remove Willis from the case in multiple jurisdictions.
"Perplexingly, prematurely, and with the standard pugnacity, Trump has filed not one but two mandamus actions against the District Attorney and this Court," he wrote.
“Put differently, the District Attorney’s Office has been doing a fairly routine – and legally unobjectionable – job of public relations in a case that is anything but routine.”
DA's charges
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is expected to present her 2020 election interference case to a grand jury by September 1.
Trump’s legal team had urged the court earlier to junk all the evidence from the special purpose grand jury investigation and dismiss Willis, citing concerns about the constitutionality of special grand juries in the state and criticising public comments she has made about the case.
Among the focus of Willis’ years-long investigation includes allegations of solicitation of election fraud, making false statements to state and local government bodies, conspiracy, racketeering, violation of an oath-of-office and involvement in election-related threats.
(With inputs from agencies)
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