Georgia’s Supreme Court dismisses Trump’s bid to quash grand jury report

Washington, July 17 (EFE).- Georgia’s Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a petition by former US President Donald Trump (2017-2021) to quash a special grand jury report on his efforts to annul Joe Biden’s victory in the state in the 2020 presidential elections.

The nine magistrates’ decision, which was unanimous, also denied a request to remove Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from the case.

The former Republican president sought to prevent the conclusions of the special grand jury from reaching the hands of a new grand jury selected on July 11 and who has the power to charge him with election meddling.

Trump had originally filed a motion in March in a lower court on which a ruling is yet to be made.

“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 he seeks without making some showing that he is being prevented fair access to those ordinary channels,” the Supreme Court’s ruling said.

The “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,” it added.

Since early 2021, Willis has been investigating whether Trump and his allies broke any laws by pressuring politicians in Georgia to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and has indicated that she would probably file charges.

Trump, who is seeking a second White House term in 2024, was charged in June in a court in Miami, Florida, with 37 federal criminal offenses for mishandling official documents.

He is the first president or ex-president in US history to face federal charges.

He was also indicted in March in a court in Manhattan, New York, over hush-money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels during his 2016 election campaign. EFE

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