A Georgia judge has rejected former President Donald Trump’s attempt to stop an investigation into his actions to overturn the 2020 election results in the state.
In a nine-page ruling, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney stated that the reasons presented by Trump for halting the investigation were either inadequate or based on uncertain and unfulfilled assumptions.
“The movants’ asserted ‘injuries’ that would open the doors of the courthouse to their claims are either insufficient or else speculative and unrealized,” judge McBurney wrote.
The judge explained that being the subject of a highly publicized criminal investigation might be unpleasant, but it does not by itself justify interfering with or stopping the ongoing inquiry.
“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,” he ruled.
The ruling marks the second setback for Trump’s efforts to halt the investigation, with the state’s Supreme Court already rejecting a previous suit with a reference to this matter.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis presented evidence to a grand jury presided over by McBurney, and she has indicated that she could bring charges in the prominent case sometime during the second or third week of August.
Trump, however, has filed a third lawsuit against Willis and McBurney along with his petition to the state supreme court in yet another attempt to escape accountability.
Judge McBurney also concluded that Trump lacks the legal standing to sue in order to stop the investigation since he can only speculate that he might be indicted. The judge highlighted that there is no actual indictment as yet, and without a genuine controversy, standing cannot be conferred.
This is the second time Trump’s attempts to dismiss the probe have been thwarted, and the judge has determined that he does not have the standing to sue for its termination.
