Trump legal team tries again to block Georgia election interference grand jury probe
The move is the latest tactic to delay ex-president’s legal proceedings
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Former president Donald Trump’s legal team is once again trying to block an investigation into whether his allies broke the law in their attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia, The Washington Post reported.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has been looking into Mr Trump’s teams efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. But Fulton County Superior Court Judge Superior Court Judge Ural Glanville recused the entire judicial bench in Fulton County from hearing the former president’s motion to disqualify the investigation.
Rather, the judge reassigned the case to the Seventh Judicial Administrative District in the state “for the appointment of a judge who is not a member of the district to preside over the case.”
Mr Trump’s team filed an amended notion to disqualify Willis and end the findings. The 650-page document argues that “fundraising for her re-election campaign on the back of this case” and said Ms Willis, who is seeking re-election, has made “requests for followers and campaign donations which referenced her prosecution of this investigation.”
As evidence, the Trump team cited a tweet from Adam Parkhomenko, a Democratic activist not affiliated with Ms Willis’s campaign, saying “She is exactly the kind of candidate we must not only elect but re-elect.” Ms Willis’s account later retweeted the message.
The Georgia Supreme Court had previously rejected Mr Trump’s lawyers to disqualify Ms Willis and stay all criminal proceedings in the case.
Mr Trump’s legal team has also tried to remove Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney from the case, citing his oversight of the special grand jury, which they called “under an unconstitutional statute” and “through an illegal and unconstitutional process” that violated the former president’s rights.
Mr Trump’s attorneys pointed to Ms Willis’s timelines for indictments in the coming weeks and called for “emergency motions.”
“Petitioner cannot sit on his hands while a prosecutor with a disqualifying personal interest uses unconstitutionally obtained evidence to drag him ultimately into a courtroom,” they argued.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments