Former President Donald Trump asked a judge in Georgia on Wednesday to dismiss two counts against him for 2020 election interference, arguing the charges should not be tried in state court—as the 2024 GOP presidential nominee faces a string of legal hurdles ahead of the November elections.
Former President Donald Trump asked a judge in Georgia to dismiss two counts against him in his ... [+]
Trump attorney Steven Sadow asked Judge Scott McAfee to throw out two of Trump’s 13 counts: One count of filing false documents and one charge of conspiracy to file false documents, charges that under Georgia state law make it a crime to “knowingly file, enter, or record any document in a public record or court.”
Those charges come with a maximum penalty of five years in prison for conspiracy and up to 10 years for filing a false document.
Sadow argued because the document in question—a court filing alleging widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election—was filed at a federal District Court and not at a state court, the allegation “contravenes federal, not state criminal law” and “cannot be prosecuted in state court under a state criminal statute.”
Three of the other counts Trump faced—as well as three others against some of his 18 co-defendants—were dismissed last month, after McAfee argued plaintiffs did not provide “sufficient detail” on the “nature” of those counts, including solicitation of the violation of oath.
This is a breaking story and will be updated.