US judge rejects Trumps attempt to derail 2020 election probe

Former US President Donald Trump's attempt to derail an investigation into his alleged meddling in the 2020 presidential election in the state of Georgia has been rejected by a judge, the media reported.

On Monday, 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, reports Xinhua news agency.

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.

But despite Trump's mounting legal troubles, his status as the clear frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination continues unabated.

The former President has been indicted twice in the past four months -- once in New York for alleged financial crimes and once in a federal court on charges that he mishandled sensitive government documents and obstructed an investigation.

He may be on the verge of a third indictment, for attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

An average of opinion polls from Monday showed he has a commanding lead of 37 points over his nearest rival, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, the BBC reported.

No-one else in the crowded field of 14 candidates scores over 6 per cent, and more than half of them are not even at 1 per cent.

Meanwhile, the primary fundraising and political spending group supporting Trump has spent more than $40 million on legal fees so far this year.

That money, due to be confirmed in a financial filing on Monday, has been used to defend the former President and his allies across multiple cases, reports the BBC.

It is a more than two-fold increase in Save America's spending on legal costs across 2021 and 2022 combined. Save America is a political action committee founded and controlled by Trump.