U.S. judge rejects Trump's attempt to derail 2020 election probe

WASHINGTON, July 31 (Xinhua) -- Former U.S. President Donald Trump's attempt to derail an investigation into his alleged meddling in the 2020 presidential election in the state of Georgia was rejected by a judge on Monday, U.S. media reported.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney rejected efforts by Trump's legal team to keep a Georgia district attorney from prosecuting him and from using certain evidence gathered in her investigation into the case.

In his ruling, McBurney said there are no grounds to disqualify Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from pursuing her investigation. Willis has suggested that she may seek charges in the case in the coming weeks.

Trump's legal team in Georgia had previously asked the court to throw out all the evidence from the special purpose grand jury investigation and disqualify Willis, citing concerns about the constitutionality of special grand juries in the state and about "a prosecutor's office that was found to have an actual conflict, yet continued to pursue the investigation."

The special grand jury did not have the power to indict. But it did issue subpoenas and hear from witnesses and issue a final report with recommendations for Willis.