Trump asks court to disqualify Georgia DA, throw out election report

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Former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks at a campaign event in Council Bluffs, Iowa, July 7, 2023.

Scott Morgan | Reuters

Former President Donald Trump has asked two Georgia courts to disqualify Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from investigating him and to overturn a special grand jury report that recommended criminal charges in 2020 Willis’ election interference probe.

The requests came in court documents filed overnight in the Georgia Supreme Court and Fulton County Superior Court. In both, Trump’s lawyers argued that Willis was “seeking an indictment” against Trump based on evidence that was “unlawfully obtained.”

The filings come three days after Fulton County Superior Court two grand juries that could decide whether to indict Trump and his allies in their effort to reverse his loss to President Joe Biden in the 2020 Georgia election.

Willis indicated that indictments related to the investigation could come in August.

These newly seated grand juries are separate from the special purpose grand jury that heard evidence and testimony from dozens of witnesses last year. That grand jury submitted its final report, most of which remained under seal on Friday.

The special grand jury had no indictment power, and Willis did not have to follow its recommendations. However, two recently empaneled grand juries in Fulton County have indictment power.

They meet twice a week throughout the term to hear multiple cases and decide whether to return a “true bill” of accusation or issue a “no bill” and drop the case.

Trump’s lawyers said in their petition to the Georgia Supreme Court that they asked Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney in March to overturn the special grand jury’s report and disqualify Willis.

McBurney has yet to issue a ruling, and Trump’s lawyers worry that an indictment could come before he delivers one. But, they argue that it would leave Trump “struggling to extricate himself from a net that has been unlawfully cast.”

Lawyers acknowledge that it is very rare to make a request directly to the state’s highest court, which reviews decisions made by lower courts. But, they argue that Trump’s status as a former president and a candidate in 2024 deserves special consideration.

“If Petitioner’s case is not exceptional enough for this Court to exercise jurisdiction, no case can be,” they wrote.

A spokesman for Willis’ office declined to comment. Trump’s lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment from CNBC on the filings. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution first reported on the court filings.

In the weeks following the 2020 presidential election, Trump and his allies have tried to change vote tallies in key swing states, including Georgia, which Biden won by a relatively small margin of votes.

In some states, Republicans submitted certificates falsely claiming that Trump had won their states’ electoral votes, and asserted that a select slate of fake electors were allowed to cast electoral votes for Trump.

At least eight of these fraudulent electors were granted immunity by Willis as part of the Georgia investigation, according to court filings in May of this year.

If Trump is indicted by a Georgia grand jury, it would be the third case in which the Republican 2024 presidential frontrunner has faced prosecution.

Trump was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury in March for allegedly falsifying business records. Three months later, he was charged in federal court in Florida with mishandling classified documents. In both cases, Trump has pleaded not guilty.

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