In a devastating blow to Democrats and Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, the judge overseeing the 2020 election interference case recently dismissed multiple charges against former President Donald Trump.
“JUDGE DISMISSES 6 COUNTS IN GEORGIA TRUMP ELECTION CASE” pic.twitter.com/0GUZ9t8811
— Donald J. Trump Posts From His Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) March 14, 2024
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee struck down six counts in Willis’ indictment, including three against the former president — the presumptive 2024 GOP presidential nominee. The judge left 10 counts against Trump and said prosecutors could draw up another indictment to try and reinstate the dismissed charges.
The ruling deals a blow to Willis, who is currently facing a GOP-led effort to have her removed from prosecuting Trump over an alleged romantic relationship she had with a top prosecutor in the former president’s case.
Willis’ indictment charges the former president and dozens of other defendants with violating Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, which was initially drafted to prosecute notorious criminal organizations in the 1970s. The case against Trump accuses him of engaging in a scheme to “overturn” the 2020 election in Georgia.
Defense attorneys celebrated McAfee’s ruling, which came after Trump and other co-defendants in the case filed challenges to the indictment.
“The ruling is a correct application of the law, as the prosecution failed to make specific allegations of any alleged wrongdoing on those counts,” Trump attorney Steve Sadow said.
“The entire prosecution of President Trump is political, constitutes election interference, and should be dismissed.”
The six dismissed counts had charged the defendants with trying to coerce public officers into violating their oaths.
One of the charges stems from a phone call then-President Donald Trump made to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger on Jan. 2, 2021, telling the official he would like to find the votes necessary to overtake then-presidential candidate Joe Biden in the state.
McAfee said he decided to dismiss the counts because they failed to allege enough detail concerning the nature of the violations.
“The lack of detail concerning an essential legal element is, in the undersigned’s opinion, fatal,” the judge wrote. “They do not give the Defendants enough information to prepare their defenses intelligently.”
The ruling comes as McAfee considers a challenge to have Willis disqualified from prosecuting Trump.
