Trump Asks Court to Dump Grand Jury Report

Filing seeks to quash finding, remove district attorney from case
By Bob Cronin,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 20, 2023 3:30 PM CDT
Trump Tries to Quash Georgia Grand Jury Report
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis watches proceedings during a January hearing in Atlanta.   (AP Photo/John Bazemore, File)

Former President Donald Trump's lawyers went to court Monday in Georgia, seeking to suppress a grand jury's findings about possible election interference and remove the prosecutor from the case. Citing the Fifth and the 14th Amendments of the Constitution, as well as provisions of Georgia's constitution, the 51-page filing argues that all evidence collected by the Fulton County grand jury should be ruled unconstitutional, NBC News reports. The motion seeks to have Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis disqualified from further investigations or prosecutions in the matter.

Trump's motion argues that the laws regulating special grand juries in Georgia are vague and "violate the principles of fundamental fairness and due process," per the New York Times. Among other accusations, the filing says the grand jury illegally compelling Gov. Brian Kemp to testify, "despite his valid assertion of sovereign immunity." It criticizes Willis for granting interviews to news outlets, saying she expressed opinions suggesting the guilt of people who might later be charged. Willis' office did not immediately comment on the motion. And it criticizes the supervising judge.

Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney, the motion says, failed to protect the constitutional rights of those whose conduct was reviewed by the grand jury. Any charges would not be filed by the grand jury; its job is to offer recommendations in its report. Portions have been released, but they didn't include any findings about whether anyone should be indicted and for what. Emily Kohrs, the jury forewoman who spoke about the case interviews last month, violated principles of fairness and tainted the jury pool in the case, the lawyers argued. She suggested the grand jury had recommended more than a dozen people be indicted. So far, no charges have been filed. (More Donald Trump stories.)

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