ATLANTA — The Georgia district attorney investigating former President Donald Trump’s alleged interference with the 2020 election was ordered to respond to Trump’s petition to essentially throw out the investigation.

Trump filed a motion March 20 seeking to quash the final report of the Fulton County Special Purpose Grand Jury, put in place by the Fulton County Superior Court to investigate possible criminal interference the 2020 general election in which Trump was the incumbent presidential candidate.

In mid-February part of the 26-member special grand jury report was released, recommending that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis seek indictments against witnesses who they believe lied during testimony on 2020 election interference.

Evidence from or involving 75 witnesses was heard or reviewed during the seven-month investigation, according to the report.

Other parts of the report not disclosed to the public recommends specific indictments for election crimes. According to revelations made after the November 2020 elections, Trump, on a recorded phone call, pressed Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find” 11,870 votes, which would have given him the victory in Georgia, surpassing President Joe Biden’s total.

Trump’s chief of staff Mark Meadows called Raffensperger’s office at least 18 times to set up the call, according to information revealed at a June hearing by the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, which stemmed from Trump and his allies’s claims of election fraud.

Trump March 20 motion is also seeking to disqualify the Fulton County District Attorney’s office from any further investigations or potential prosecution for alleged interference.

Willis, who sanctioned the investigation, was ordered by Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney March 27 to respond to Trump’s motion by May 1. Willis must respond to Trump’s contentions and include her opinion on whether Trump’s motion requires a hearing for resolution, according to McBurney’s order.

According to the Associated Press, Trump’s March 20 motion also requests another judge — other than McBurney — preside over the case, claiming that McBurney misjudged the law by not disqualifying Willis from the entire investigation when he ruled in July 2022 that Willis couldn’t pursue charges against Burt Jones, Georgia’s current lieutenant governor. Jones was allegedly one of 16 Georgia Republicans who signed a certificate falsely asserting Trump won the state and claimed to be the state’s “duly elected and qualified” electors, the AP states.  

Willis was disqualified from seeking charges against Jones due to a conflict of interest. The Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia, a nonpartisan association of Georgia district attorneys, would be able to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate those claims against Jones.