ATLANTA — A judge has denied Gov. Brian Kemp’s request to avoid testifying before the special purpose grand jury investigating Donald Trump and his allies’ attempts to overturn Georgia’s 2020 election results.
But the Monday morning ruling from Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney did say Kemp could appear before the grand jury at “some date soon after” the contentious November election.
McBurney’s ruling comes after weeks of heated discussions, legal wrangling and a tense two-hour court hearing in which Kemp’s attorneys argued in favor of quashing his subpoena.
In addition to suggesting the summons was a political move in the middle of a heated election season, the governor’s legal team argued last week that sovereign immunity prevents him from being forced to testify.
Prosecutors from Willis’ office, meanwhile, said during Thursday’s hearing that they’ve gone out of their way to avoid politics and that sovereign immunity doesn’t apply because the grand jury, while civil in nature, is probing potential criminal violations in the law.
McBurney — who pointed out Thursday that Kemp is facing no accusations of criminal activity and is effectively a “victim” of any improper actions undertaken by Trump or his allies — largely sided with Willis’ office. Though his ruling did grant the Kemp camp’s request that his appearance before the special grand jury be delayed until after Nov. 8, should he be forced to testify..
“Once the election is over, the Court expects the Governor’s legal team promptly to make arrangements for his appearance,” McBurney wrote.
McBurney’s ruling also acknowledged the contentious negotiations for Kemp’s testimony.
“...this subpoena came only after weeks of tortured and tortuous negotiations over obtaining an interview with the Governor — the details of which do not bear repeating here, other than to note that both sides share responsibility for the torture and the tortuousness,” the ruling says.
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