Georgia's Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision on Monday declining a petition from former President Trump’s attorneys to block an investigation into allegations he interfered with 2020 election results in the state.
In the five-page decision, the justices were critical of Trump’s legal team for directly petitioning the top court instead of making its argument before a lower court first.
The opinion came just days after Trump’s attorneys asked the court to block the investigation by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, a Democrat.
The investigation began after Trump’s Jan. 2, 2021, phone call with Georgia’s Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger about election fraud concerns. Trump has defended the conversation as “absolutely PERFECT.”
“The Court has made clear that a petitioner cannot invoke this Court’s original jurisdiction as a way to circumvent the ordinary channels for obtaining the relief,” the justices wrote. “Petitioner has not shown that this case presents one of those extremely rare circumstances in which this Court’s original jurisdiction should be invoked, and therefore, the petition is dismissed.”
Trump’s lawyers have claimed that Willis has violated the state’s rules governing grand juries in various ways, including by using a special grand jury to investigate potential crimes related to the 2020 presidential election and then presenting that evidence to another, regular grand jury that is considering potential indictments against Trump and his allies.
Trump’s attorneys filed a petition in March with Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney, asking that Willis’ probe be halted. McBurney has yet to rule on that motion. The district attorney’s office has defended the investigation, insisting that all the state’s rules have been followed.
The ruling from Georgia’s high court doesn’t block McBurney or any other judge from granting some or all of Trump’s requests, but says the state court of last resort is not willing to do so in the current posture. (Politico)
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Willis has signaled to county officials that she could pursue indictments in the coming weeks. She is expected to bring her case before a grand jury, which would consider whether criminal charges are appropriate for the former president.
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