Judge rejects Georgia Governor Kemp’s request to quash subpoena in Trump Fulton County case

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A superior court judge for Fulton County, Georgia, rejected Republican Governor Brian Kemp’s attempt to block a subpoena to testify before a grand jury in a case being brought by the county’s district attorney investigating former president Donald Trump’s attempts to interfere in the 2020 presidential election.

Fani Willis, the district attorney for Fulton County, is leading a probe into Mr Trump’s team’s attempts to throw out the 2020 presidential election results after he lost the state. On 4 August, she issued a subpoena to Mr Kemp, who rejected Mr Trump’s prodding to overturn the results of the election.

The goal of the subpoena was to determine whether any criminal conduct occurred in the attempt to discard the election results.

“Having considered the pleadings, oral arguments and relevant case law, the Court finds that it does enjoy jurisdiction and that the subpoena will not be quashed,” Judge Robert McBurney, a judge for the Superior Court of Fulton County in Atlanta Judicial Circuit, wrote.

But the court said it would delay Mr Kemp’s appearance before the special grand jury until after the 2022 midterm elections, where he is currently running against former state legislator Stacey Abrams in 2018 rematch.

“The Governor is in the midst of a reelection campaign and this grand jury investigation should not be used by the District Attorney, the Governor’s opponent, or the Governor himself to influence the outcome of the election,” the judge wrote.

Ms Willis’s probe has led her to subpoena Mr Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani and Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, one of Mr Trump’s biggest defenders.

Earlier this month, Mr Giulani testified before the special grand jury and said that he had ‘satisfied his obligation.”

Mr Trump repeatedly pressured numerous Republican elected officials to overturn the election results, even calling Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and asking him to find a sufficient number of votes that would make him a winner.