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Trump’s lawyers move to quash Georgia special grand jury report

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, right, interacts with colleagues Donald Wakeford, left, and Nathan Wade, center, during a hearing on Jan. 24, 2023.    (Miguel Martinez/The Atlanta Journal-Constitution/TNS)
By Bill Rankin and Tamar Hallerman The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

ATLANTA — Lawyers for former President Donald Trump on Monday moved to quash the final report of the special purpose grand jury that is recommending indictments for those who meddled with Georgia’s 2020 presidential election.

The court filing also seeks to prevent the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office from using any evidence derived from the special grand jury investigation, and it seeks to recuse the DA’s office from further pursuing the case.

“The whole world has watched the process of the (special purpose grand jury) unfold and what they have witnessed was a process that was confusing, flawed and, at times, unconstitutional,” said the 51-page filing, which includes 433 more pages of exhibits. “Given the scrutiny and gravity of the investigation and those individuals involved — namely, the movant President Donald J. Trump, this process should have been handled correctly, fairly and with deference to the law and the highest ethical standards.”

The motion requests that any evidence derived from the special grand jury report be “suppressed as unconstitutionally derived and any prosecuting body be prevented from its use.”

Trump’s lawyers are also asking for a hearing on the motion and that it be heard by Chief Superior Court Judge Ural Glanville or another Superior Court judge, not Judge Robert McBurney, who presided over the special grand jury probe. McBurney, the filing argued, violated the rights of parties impacted by the investigation.

The motion takes aim at public comments made by special grand jury forewoman Emily Kohrs as well as five other grand jurors who recently sat down for an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.The five jurors spoke on the condition of not being named because of concerns about their safety and privacy.

In a separate interview with the AJC, Kohrs said the final report recommends multiple people be indicted. “It’s not a short list,” she said.

One of the other jurors interviewed by the AJC said that when the full report come out, “it’s gonna be massive.”

None of the jurors who spoke to the media revealed who they had recommended be criminally charged in the probe.