Former President Donald Trump’s legal team on Thursday said it “may” seek to have the former president’s high-profile election interference case in Fulton County, Georgia, moved to federal court—his latest legal strategy after five of his co-defendants pushed for a federal case in a bid that could provide Trump with a potentially more lenient jury pool
Former President Donald Trump said he might push for his election interference case in Georgia to be ... [+]
Trump’s notification to Fulton County Judge Scott McAfee follows requests by former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, former DOJ official Jeffrey Clark, Republican Georgia state Sen. Shawn Still, former Georgia state Republican Party Chair David Shafer and Coffee County, Georgia, GOP Chair Cathy Latham to remove the case from Georgia to federal court.
Trump’s co-defendants seeking removal have argued the case should be tied to federal law, not state law, with Latham claiming she has a right to remove the case “as an officer of the United States”—a federal district judge is set to rule on the request.
Removing the case could give Trump a jury pool more sympathetic to him compared to one in Fulton County, which covers Democratic-leaning Atlanta and voted nearly 73% in favor of President Joe Biden in 2020.
A federal case could also give defendants a chance to test the limits of the state’s racketeering statute—one of the charges Trump faces—Georgia defense attorney Andrew Fleischman told CNN following Trump’s indictment, while it could also allow Trump’s defense team to convince a federal judge his actions after the 2020 election were part of his formal duties as a federal official, CNN reported.
Legal experts say Trump can get a fair trial in both Fulton County and in federal court, though other analysts have argued removal to federal court would prove difficult, with the Washington Post editorial board calling the push from Meadows “legally deficient” and a threat to Georgia’s “ability to enforce their laws and uphold the integrity of their elections.”
Trump had also pushed for his case to be severed from two of his 18 co-defendants (former attorneys Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesebro) after they demanded a speedy trial starting in October. Trump had pushed for the trial to start after the 2024 presidential election, slamming prosecutors for bringing charges in the midst of the campaign cycle. In a court filing, the former president’s legal team argued a speedy trial would create “adverse procedural and substantive effects” and reduce the amount of time attorneys would have to prepare.
Trump pleaded not guilty late last month to all 13 felony counts in Georgia, over his alleged efforts to overturn the results of his 2020 election loss. Trump had been indicted earlier in August on racketeering charges, as well as conspiracy to commit impersonation of a public officer, solicitation of violation of oath by a public officer and conspiracy to commit forgery, marking his fourth indictment since launching his 2024 presidential campaign late last year. The charges in Georgia carry a maximum prison sentence of 76.5 years if Trump is convicted on all charges, though defendants rarely receive a maximum sentence. As of Tuesday, all 18 of his co-defendants have also pleaded not guilty in the case.
U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan set the trial date for Trump’s federal election interference case for March 4, putting it in the middle of the GOP primary schedule, though Trump vowed to appeal that trial date.
Trump Pushes For Separate Trial In Georgia Case As Co-Defendants Seek Trial In Just Two Months (Forbes)
Trump Co-Defendant Cathy Latham Becomes Latest Requesting Georgia Case Be Moved To Federal Court (Forbes)