ATLANTA — Attorneys representing former President Donald Trump are working to stop Atlanta prosecutors from proceeding with their investigation into alleged criminal interference in Georgia's 2020 presidential election.
The former president's attorneys are attempting to quash a special purpose grand jury report that recommends at least 12 people be indicted for their actions. Their names are a secret as portions of the report remain private and Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis weighs her options.
The 483-page court filing also seeks to prevent the Fulton County District Attorney's Office or other prosecuting bodies from using any evidence in the report. The attorneys also seek to recuse the DA's Office from handling any future prosecution or potential cases related to the special grand jury's work.
Trump's legal team — attorneys Jennifer Little, Drew Findling and Marissa Goldberg — argue several factors tainted the eight-month investigation into alleged criminal interference and election meddling by the former president and his allies.
In the document, the attorneys argue that public comments and actions taken by Willis, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney and members of the special grand jury "violated the principles of fundamental fairness and due process" rights of Trump and other parties under investigation.
Further, the attorneys argue that the Georgia law governing special purpose grand juries is vague and unconstitutional, unfairly impacting people of interest in the investigation.
Trump's attorneys request their motion be heard by Fulton County Superior Court Ural Glanville or another county superior court judge, excluding McBurney.
"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, blatantly unconstitutional," the attorneys said in a portion of the court filing. "The errors and flaws detailed above are fatal to the report and recommendations made by the (special purpose grand jury) as fruit of the poisonous tree."
In previous statements, Trump's legal team said interviews given by the special purpose grand jury's forewoman and the details she revealed proved the investigation was not "trustworthy."
The forewoman, 30-year-old Fulton County resident Emily Kohrs, gave interviews to the Associated Press, CNN, NBC News and other outlets in late February about the special purpose grand jury that spent eight months investigating potential criminal interference during the 2020 presidential election.
"The media tour undertaken by the foreperson of the grand jury may have been surprising to some because of its unprecedented nature, but, in reality, was emblematic of the deeply flawed process," Trump's attorneys told 11Alive last month in a statement.
The panel heard from 75 witnesses, ranging from former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows to local elections workers. Trump did not testify before the special purpose grand jury.
Kohrs told NBC News that the jury recommended more than a dozen indictments but did not name those individuals. She gave cryptic answers when asked if Trump was among those the jury recommended for prosecution.
“I don't think that there are any giant plot twists coming," Kohrs told NBC News.
Georgia State University law professor Anthony Kreis and Norman Eisen, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institute, both told 11Alive that the arguments Trump's attorneys put forward were without merit.
Eisen served as special counsel to the House Judiciary Committee from 2019 to 2020, during Trump's first impeachment and trial.
"It's an attempt, certainly, to throw a spanner in the works," Eisen said. "I think this is throw spaghetti at the wall and see what sticks. And it's just not going to stick."
Only portions of the grand jury's report have been released at this point — the introduction, the conclusion and a portion in which jurors said one or more witnesses may have lied in their testimony.
Special purpose grand juries in Georgia lack the power to indict. To seek indictments, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis would have to take cases before a regular grand jury.
Willis has previously said that decisions regarding potential indictments are imminent. She's said nothing publicly about who she may seek charges against.
Jeff DiSantis, a spokesperson for Willis, told 11Alive the office would limit its response to what it files in court.