LAST DITCH: Trump fighting to suppress evidence in Georgia election interference probe
A Grand Jury in Fulton County, Georgia, finished its work in January and submitted its report, which includes the evidence that it gathered in the process and any indictments they think should stem from that investigation. Now, Donald Trump’s legal team is asking for all of that evidence to be suppressed in a last-ditch emergency effort to stop the flood of indictments.
One member of the jury, foreperson Emily Kohrs, has publicly shared that the list is not short, though she didn’t offer details on who, exactly, faces what potential charges — or whether Trump is on the list.
Another juror has hinted that the evidence is overwhelming, saying that if everyone in America saw it, the nation “would not be divided as it is right now” on the outcome.
Trump, of course, says he’s innocent, and his attorneys have worked up a long list of reasons they believe that evidence should be suppressed (suggesting they, too, think it could be more damaging than exculpatory).
These excuses include claiming that the investigation should have been civil rather than criminal; arguing that requiring Governor Brian Kemp to testify was unconstitutional; and that the laws under which the investigation proceeded are too vague.
They’re also claiming that for District Attorney Fani Willis to have — and express — views on alleged election interference by a man who was, at the time, a sitting president trying to hold onto power after the voters said otherwise, taints the process, and that for the jury’s foreperson to speak publicly about the process is damaging.
(The judge overseeing the panel has already weighed in on that matter, affirming the right of jurists to talk about some aspects of the experience, after being released from duty.)
“Trump’s lawyers cited the Fifth and the 14th Amendments of the Constitution, as well as articles in the Georgia state Constitution in arguing that the grand jury’s investigation was tainted from the start…[Team Trump’s] motion Monday marks the first official filing they have made in the Georgia investigation.”
Judge Robert McBurney has said, with regard to jurors speaking to the media:
“[I]t’s important for people to understand that witness testimony is not deliberations…you don’t talk about what the group discussed about the witnesses’ testimony, but you can talk about witness testimony. You could talk about things that the assistant district attorneys told you…And then finally, you can talk about the final report because that is the product of your deliberations, but it’s not your deliberations.”
This hasn’t stopped Trump and his defenders from claiming that Kohrs broke laws by sharing her experience publicly, such as last month, when Trump attorneys Drew Findling, Marissa Goldberg, and Jennifer Little told Bloomberg this was “emblematic of the deeply flawed process” and claiming they’d seen a number of issues with the jury that they found “ranging from questionable to downright unconstitutional.”
Now they’re trying — in direct defiance of Judge McBurney’s comments on the matter — to use her as an excuse to be sure that America never sees what the jury has uncovered.
This all comes as the nation waits for Trump to be hit with an indictment this week in an unrelated case, by the Manhattan District Attorney.
Steph Bazzle covers politics and theocracy, always aiming for a world free from extremism and authoritarianism. Follow Steph on Twitter @imjustasteph.
