


A Georgia judge tossed out six criminal charges against former President Donald Trump and his co-defendants Wednesday, though he kept in place the major racketeering charges, in a move that could signal the case will move ahead despite scrutiny of Fulton County Attorney General Fani Willis.
Six counts against former President Donald Trump in Georgia were dismissed on Wednesday, though ... [+]
Judge Scott McAfee, who is overseeing the case against Trump and his 18 co-defendants over their alleged attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, dismissed three counts specifically naming Trump, and three others naming his co-defendants.
McAfee argued the six counts—including solicitation of the violation of oath of office—“fail to allege sufficient detail regarding the nature of their commission” and do not provide defendants with “enough information to prepare their defenses intelligently.”
The decision comes as the former president and his co-defendants seek to have Willis disqualified from the case, which at least one commentator, CNN legal analyst and Brookings fellow Norm Eisen, suggested could indicate McAfee doesn’t intend to disqualify Willis, because “if he were gonna disqualify Willis, he likely would not have bothered to wrap up this very detailed order,” Eisen wrote.
Trump has also requested McAfee throw out the charges over claims of presidential immunity, an issue Trump has raised in four criminal cases against him, and which the Supreme Court plans to take up in April for Trump’s federal election interference case.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
Trump Asks Georgia To Throw Out Charges Based On ‘Presidential Immunity’ (Forbes)
Legal Experts Say Fani Willis Unlikely To Be Disqualified As Judge Weighs Trump Challenge (Forbes)