On Monday, the Georgia Supreme Court rejected Donald Trump’s request to shut down the inquiry into his false election fraud claims in the state. Fulton District Attorney Fani Willis has signaled that indictments may be brought against the former president in the coming weeks.
Trump’s lawyers have argued that Willis violated state rules by illegally running grand juries in different ways. They said that she used a special grand jury to investigate alleged crimes related to the 2020 presidential election and then presented the evidence to another grand jury that was considering indicting Trump and his allies.
In a petition filed in March, Trump’s attorneys asked that Willis’ inquiry be removed, a request that has yet to be decided on by Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney.
In their five-page decision on Monday, all nine justices agreed that Trump’s legal team did not make a strong enough case for why the probe should be stopped. Though McBurney could still grant Trump’s wishes, the Supreme Court will not do so at this time.
“He makes no showing that he has been prevented fair access to the ordinary channels,” the Georgia Supreme Court Justices wrote. “He is asking the Court to step in and decide the motions currently pending in the superior court. This is not the sort of relief that this Court affords, at least absent extraordinary circumstances that Petitioner has not shown are present here.”
The probe into Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia is ongoing. Throughout her investigation, Willis has gathered witness testimonies and key evidence, such as a recording of a call from Trump to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. The former president asked Raffensperger to “find 11,780 votes” that would deem Trump victorious in the state.
Possible charges brought against Trump will coincide with others, as the former president is currently facing a 37-count indictment for willful retention of national security information and was just issued a letter notifying him that he is a target in the investigation into the insurrection on January 6, 2021.
