A Fulton County, Georgia Superior Court Judge has rejected Donald Trump’s attempt to block District Attorney Fani Willis’ investigation into his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, quash any report that might be released from the grand jury, and disqualify Willis from investigating or prosecuting the case – essentially an attempt to block any possible indictment. Willis has strongly suggested if she moves to obtain a grand jury indictment it would likely be in the first two weeks of August.
Finding that Trump does not have standing to make the requests, Judge Robert McBurney writes that the ex-president’s claims of possible “‘injuries’…are either insufficient or else speculative and unrealized.” Lawfare’s Anna Bower was first to report Judge McBurney’s denial.
“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 that status alone provides a basis for the courts to interfere with or halt the investigation,” McBurney says, adding: “Trump knew this.”
In a footlight highlighted by The Messenger’s Adam Klasfeld, Judge McBurney also writes: “And for some, being the subject of a criminal investigation can, a la Rumpelstiltskin, be turned into golden political capital, making it seem more providential than problematic. Regardless, simply being the subject (or target) of an investigation does not yield standing to bring a claim to halt that investigation in court.”
READ MORE: Trump Thinks He Won’t Be Indicted Because He Won His Impeachment Trial
From a German fairy tale, Rumpelstiltskin “is a mysterious gnomelike man who spins straw into gold for the benefit of a beautiful miller’s daughter, in exchange for her future firstborn child,” according to Britannica.
Also pointing to the “Rumpelstiltskin” mention, Politico’s Kyle Cheney notes: “McBurney‘s ruling is unsparing. He notes, glancingly, Trump has capitalized on his potential prosecutions despite claims that he’s suffering harm from them.”
Cheney adds, “And, most bitingly, McBurney notes that Trump *already* knew his motion was dead on arrival — because he’d been slapped down by the 11th Circuit on the exact same issue: Trying to short-circuit the documents investigation before an indictment.”
As to Trump’s request to block release of any grand jury report, the Judge writes, Trump seeks “to have the Special Purpose Grand Jury’s final report locked away from public view forever. Such permanent silencing of that investigative body is not what either statutory or case law generally allows.”
And since the existence of any report has not been made public, McBurney suggests Trump’s request is premature: “motions to quash or expunge are M00T.”
The judge also discredited Trump’s efforts to have Willis disqualified, calling it a “bold request.” McBurney makes clear Trump has not shown any conflict of interest exists, and says District Attorney Willis has not made any partisan or political claims about the case.
“The drumbeat from the District Attorney has been neither partisan (in the political sense), nor personal, in marked and refreshing contrast to the stream of personal invective flowing from one of the movants (apparently referring to Trump.)