A Fulton County judge has rejected former President Donald Trump’s attempt to head off any potential indictments that may soon be announced in the closely watched investigation into the attempts to interfere in the 2020 presidential election.
Trump’s attorneys have filed wide-ranging motions in a push to disqualify District Attorney Fani Willis from the probe, circumvent Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney and quash the special grand jury’s final report.
Cathy Latham, who was a fake elector and the chair of the Coffee County Republican party who opened the local election office to Trump’s campaign team in the wake of the election, had also filed a motion joining the former president in his preemptive court maneuvering.
McBurney ruled Monday that Trump and Latham lack standing to challenge the ongoing Fulton County investigation and any potential prosecution that may come from it and rejected their attempt to disqualify Willis from any further involvement. And he batted away the attempt to quash the special grand jury’s final report as moot for now.
“(Trump and Latham’s) asserted ‘injuries’ that would open the doors of the courthouse to their claims are either insufficient or else speculative and unrealized,” McBurney wrote in his order.
“They are insufficient because, while 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 status alone provides a basis for the courts to interfere or halt the investigation.”
McBurney, who oversaw the special grand jury investigation, said Trump and Latham were acting prematurely, considering no charges have been filed at this point and the work of prosecutors – who…
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