Criminal Justice & the Rule of Law

Trump Asks Georgia Supreme Court to Quash Fulton County Report, Disqualify Willis

Hyemin Han
Friday, July 14, 2023, 12:47 PM

The petition to the Supreme Court of Georgia is Trump's latest effort to stall what is expected to be another criminal indictment against the former president. 

Published by The Lawfare Institute
in Cooperation With
Brookings

On July 13, former President Donald Trump filed suit with the Supreme Court of Georgia asking that it quash the Fulton County grand jury's final report, temporarily stay all proceedings of the special purpose grand jury's investigation, and disqualify Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from continuing her investigation. 

The Fulton County probe centers on Trump's alleged attempts to interfere with the results of the 2020 presidential election by working with Georgia state officials to find "missing" votes. The investigation is expected to amount to another criminal indictment against him. 

In asking for this relief from the court, Trump's filing specifically noted his status as an active candidate for the 2024 presidency: "The injuries include reputational harm to the Petitioner as he seeks his Party's nomination for the Presidency of the United States via a flagrant disregard for and violation of his fundamental constitutional rights." In motivating his claim, Trump argued that Willis, "cloaking [herself] with the imprimatur of the special grand jury's authority," was using the investigation for political purposes. 

You can read Trump's petition here or below: 


Hyemin Han is an associate editor of Lawfare and is based in Washington, D.C. Previously, she worked in eviction defense and has interned on Capitol Hill and with the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. She holds a BA in government from Dartmouth College, where she was editor-in-chief of The Dartmouth independent daily.

Subscribe to Lawfare