Donald Trump greets spectators during the Division I Mens Wrestling Championship in Oklahoma this month. Photo: Shane Bevel/NCAA Photos via Getty Images
Lawyers for former President Donald Trump in new court filing Monday asked to “quash” an Atlanta special grand jury probe investigating efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
Why it matters: This marks the strongest involvement yet of Trump’s defense attorneys in the grand jury’s high-profile investigation — as the former president and 2024 GOP candidate faces multiple other criminal probes and a potential indictment.
- The attorneys argued the proceedings “violated all notions of fundamental fairness and due process.”
- They’re also seeking to disqualify Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and invalidate all the evidence gathered as “unconstitutionally derived.”
- A spokesperson for Willis declined to comment.
Zoom in: Trump’s lawyers argue the grand jury was conducted in a process that was “confusing, flawed and at-times, blatantly unconstitutional.” They say the proceedings “failed to protect the most basic procedural and substantive constitutional rights of all individuals discussed by this investigative body.”
- Among other points, the lawyers took issue with the vague code section governing special purpose grand juries in Georgia, which did not have the power to indict but to investigate and subpoena.
- They took issue with extensive media interviews conducted by the grand jury foreperson Emily Kohrs, Willis and supervising judge Robert McBurney.
- And they take issue with the fact that Willis was disqualified from investigating one target, Republican Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, for campaigning for his one-time opponent.
Catch up quick: Willis called for an investigative grand jury to look into alleged election interference by Trump and his allies last year. The “special purpose grand jury” spent months hearing from dozens of witnesses ranging from Sen. Lindsey Graham (RS.C.) to Rudy Giuliani to Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp.
Yes, but: The jury never called on Trump to testify voluntarily or through subpoenas.
State of play: The jurors finished their work earlier this year and voted to publish the report, according to McBurney. He opted to release part of report but none of the indictment recommendations.
- Willis earlier this year said her office’s decisions about indictments were “imminent.”
What’s next: Trump’s legal team requested a hearing on the matter — before a judge other than McBurney.