Washington – A Fulton County judge on Wednesday threw out multiple counts of charges filed against former President Donald Trump and five others in an alleged attempt to overturn the results of Georgia's 2020 presidential election.
A brief order from Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee states that six of the indictments include: 41 indictments The verdict, which was returned by a Fulton County grand jury in August, must be reversed. Of those six charges, Trump was indicted on three.
Joining Trump in challenging the six counts are former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and lawyers Rudy Giuliani, John Eastman, Ray Stallings Smith and David It was Mr. Cheeley. All have pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Trump's lawyer Steve Sadow said the court's decision to cancel the count was correct.
“This sentence is a correct application of the law because the prosecution did not make any specific allegation of alleged wrongdoing in these charges,” he said in a statement. “All charges against President Trump are political, amount to election interference, and should be dismissed.”
McAfee ruling
The six counts relate to various attempts to induce state employees to violate their oaths of office, both the Georgia Constitution and the U.S. Constitution. The judge wrote that the state failed to specify what those violations were, and said the allegations were “common enough to force the court to dismiss six charges.”
“The court's concern is not that the state is failing to allege the defendant's sufficient conduct; it is in fact alleging excessive conduct; however, important legal elements “The lack of detail is fatal in the undersigned's opinion,” McAfee wrote. .
He said the six-count indictment “contains all the essential elements of the crime,” but “does not allege sufficient detail about the nature of the mission, the underlying felony solicitation.” Stated. Moreover, the defendants have not given the defendants enough information to “intellectually” prepare their defense, and therefore the Georgia Constitution and the U.S. Constitution, by extension, “dozens, if not hundreds of different McAfee wrote that this could violate the law.
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McAfee clarified that his findings do not mean the entire indictment against Trump and his 14 other co-defendants will be dismissed. Instead, Georgia prosecutors said they could seek a new indictment to supplement the six counts.
Trump was indicted on 13 counts in August in a massive extortion case brought by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. He pleaded not guilty. 18 other people were indicted He is said to have been involved alongside the former president in a plot to overturn Georgia's election results. four have Since then accepted Plea trading.
McAfee's orders come while he's at it. consider another request They called on President Trump and eight co-defendants to disqualify Willis and his office from prosecuting the case, citing inappropriate relationships between Willis and Nathan Wade, one of the special prosecutors working with the district attorney's office. .
Wade was hired in November 2021 to handle cases involving Trump. Michael Roman, a longtime Republican operative. accused of making explosive statements It was revealed in January that the relationship with Willis began before Wade's appointment. Mr. Roman said Mr. Wade paid for numerous vacations with income from his work in the district attorney's office, and argued that the district attorney benefited financially from the relationship.
Willis and Wade Approved by submission to court Last month, the two announced they were in a romantic relationship, which they said began in early 2022, months after Wade's hiring, and ended last summer.
Still, a bid by Willis and the Fulton County District Attorney's Office to be disbarred from the case began a series of heated lawsuits before McAfee last month.Willis and Wade separately took a stand Answer questions about your personal life and financial transactions.
The two said they split expenses related to the trip and refuted claims of wrongdoing. Mr. McAfee is expected to rule this week on whether to exclude Mr. Willis and his firm from the lawsuit.
Trump's prosecution in Fulton County one of four He is fighting the case in federal and state court. The trial is set to start What's happening in New York City this month: He is suspected of falsifying business records. In connection with “hush money” payments to suppress damaging information about him before the 2016 presidential election.
He is also charged in two federal cases brought by Special Counsel Jack Smith in Washington, D.C., and South Florida.of dc case The case involves an alleged attempt to block the transfer of presidential power after the 2020 election, and the Florida case includes his Suspicion of mishandling of confidential government documents After leaving the White House.
President Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges and has asked that the trial be postponed until after the presidential election in November.He has set it like this confronting President Biden In a rematch in 2020.
Jared Eggleston contributed to this report.
