Current:Home > StocksGeorgia judge rejects Trump bid to quash grand jury report and disqualify district attorney -Capitatum
Georgia judge rejects Trump bid to quash grand jury report and disqualify district attorney
Oliver James Montgomery View
Date:2025-04-06 13:14:35
Washington — A Georgia judge has rejected former President Donald Trump's request to quash a report by a special grand jury in Fulton County about his conduct after the 2020 election and to disqualify District Attorney Fani Willis from further involvement in the case. The ruling comes as Willis signals a decision on whether the former president will face charges could come soon.
In a nine-page ruling on Monday, Judge Robert McBurney of the Fulton County Superior Court said that Trump's request to block the report was premature, since he has not been charged. Trump's motion was joined by Cathleen Latham, one of the "alternate" electors in Georgia who claimed Trump won the state in 2020.
"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," McBurney's order said. "[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."
McBurney also said Willis has done nothing to warrant her recusal from the case.
"[T]he District Attorney's Office has been doing a fairly routine — and legally unobjectionable — job of public relations in case that is anything but routine. None of what movants cite rises to the level of justifying disqualification," he wrote, contrasting her public statements with "the stream of personal invective flowing from one of the movants."
The special grand jury was convened in May 2022 to investigate alleged efforts by Trump and his allies to overturn the result of the 2020 presidential election in the state, which Joe Biden won. It issued a report earlier this year, with a unanimous finding that "no widespread fraud took place in the Georgia 2020 presidential election that could result in overturning that election." Portions of the report remain sealed.
Trump's attorneys asked the court to quash the special grand jury's findings in March, calling the report "confusing, flawed, and at times, blatantly unconstitutional."
A new grand jury was convened in July to consider potential charges in the case. Willis, the district attorney, said over the weekend that a decision on charges would come soon.
"The work is accomplished," Willis told Atlanta's 11Alive news station. "We've been working for 2.5 years. We're ready to go."
Willis' investigation began shortly after a Jan. 2, 2021, phone call between Trump and Georgia's Republican secretary of state, Brad Raffensberger. According to a recording of the call, Trump told Raffensperger, "I just want to find 11,780 votes" — the exact number of votes he would have needed to surpass Mr. Biden. It soon expanded into a sprawling probe of efforts to sway the election for Trump in the months after Mr. Biden's win.
The former president has denied any wrongdoing, describing that January 2021 phone call as "perfect." And in a February 2023 interview with CBS News, Trump's attorneys defended the former president's actions.
"We absolutely do not believe that our client did anything wrong, and if any indictments were to come down, those are faulty indictments. We will absolutely fight anything tooth and nail," attorney Jennifer Little said at the time.
As with the other criminal investigations into him, the former president claims the Georgia probe is politically motivated. He already faces charges in a "hush money" case in New York state, as well as charges in special counsel Jack Smith's case about Trump's handling of classified documents. He has also acknowledged that he is a target of Smith's parallel investigation into the aftermath of the November 2020 presidential election and alleged attempts to interfere with the peaceful transfer of power.
Graham Kates contributed reporting.
Kathryn WatsonKathryn Watson is a politics reporter for CBS News Digital based in Washington, D.C.
veryGood! (3)
Related
- Federal court filings allege official committed perjury in lawsuit tied to Louisiana grain terminal
- Michigan repeat? Notre Dame in playoff? Five overreactions from Week 4 in college football
- Keith Urban Shares Update on Nicole Kidman After Her Mom’s Death
- Donna Kelce Reacts After Being Confused for Taylor Swift's Mom Andrea Swift
- Bill Belichick's salary at North Carolina: School releases football coach's contract details
- Online overseas ballots for Montana voters briefly didn’t include Harris as a candidate
- Heavy rains pelt the Cayman Islands as southeast US prepares for a major hurricane
- Kmart’s blue light fades to black with the shuttering of its last full-scale US store
- Nevada attorney general revives 2020 fake electors case
- You can't control how Social Security is calculated, but you can boost your benefits
Ranking
- Taylor Swift Eras Archive site launches on singer's 35th birthday. What is it?
- GOLDEN BLOCK SERVICES PTY LTD
- Emory Callahan Introduction
- California bans all plastic shopping bags at store checkouts: When will it go into effect?
- New Zealand official reverses visa refusal for US conservative influencer Candace Owens
- Sean Diddy Combs Predicts His Arrest in Haunting Interview From 1999
- Fantasy football Week 4: Trade value chart and rest of season rankings
- Florida officials pressure schools to roll back sex ed lessons on contraception and consent
Recommendation
Taylor Swift Eras Archive site launches on singer's 35th birthday. What is it?
Trump wants to lure foreign companies by offering them access to federal land
Boyd Gaming buys Resorts Digital online gambling operation
Colorado men tortured their housemate for 14 hours, police say
House passes bill to add 66 new federal judgeships, but prospects murky after Biden veto threat
Emory Callahan: The Pioneer of Quantitative Trading on Wall Street
Where Bravo's Craig Conover and Kyle Cooke Stand Today After Seltzer Feud
Emory Callahan: The Pioneer of Quantitative Trading on Wall Street