Georgia’s appeals court on Friday rejected Fulton County district attorney Fani Willis’s bid to reinstate six counts in the state’s 2020 election interference case against President-elect Donald Trump and more than a dozen co-defendants.
In a unanimous decision, a three-judge panel on the Georgia Court of Appeals affirmed Fulton County Superior Court judge Scott McAfee’s ruling that dismissed the six charges last March on the basis that the indictment lacked sufficient detail.
“We find that the indictment fails to include enough detail to sufficiently apprise the defendants of what they must be prepared to meet so that they can intelligently prepare their defenses,” Judge E. Trenton Brown III wrote, siding with McAfee, who arrived at the same conclusion.
The racketeering indictment accused Trump and 18 co-defendants of participating in a scheme to overturn his 2020 election loss in Georgia. But since filing the indictment in August 2023, Willis has faced numerous legal challenges.
Friday’s decision marks the latest blowback to Willis, who was disqualified from the state case last month due to her former romantic relationship with Nathan Wade, the attorney she appointed to oversee Trump’s prosecution. Notably, the Georgia Court of Appeals was the one that removed her from the case.
On Friday, Trump’s lawyers asked Georgia’s supreme court to skip hearing Willis’s appeal for why she should continue prosecuting the case. If the district attorney’s appeal is rejected, it’s possible the case will be picked up by another prosecutor.
However, like the president-elect’s other criminal cases, the Georgia election interference case may be unable to proceed given that Trump is set to be sworn into office for a second time on Monday.
While this marks a victory for Trump and his allies, the main Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act charge that each defendant faces remains intact.
The six dismissed charges allege the defendants solicited Georgia officials to violate their oaths of office.
Trump allegedly pressured Georgia secretary of state Brad Raffensperger to “find 11,780 votes” in order to overturn President Joe Biden’s 2020 victory in the state. Four years later, Trump reclaimed Georgia and all other swing states that previously voted for Biden.
Trump also allegedly solicited help from Governor Brian Kemp and David Ralston, Georgia’s Republican house speaker at the time, to call a special legislative session in order to unlawfully appoint presidential electors. Kemp nor Ralston complied with the demand.
Four co-defendants, the latest being former Trump attorney Jenna Ellis, pleaded guilty to the charges in 2023. Meanwhile, the president-elect and the remaining 14 co-defendants pleaded not guilty.