The Fulton County judge overseeing Georgia’s election interference case on March 13 dismissed some of the charges against Donald Trump and his co-defendants but kept most of the racketeering indictment in place, the Associated Press reported.
Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee dismissed six counts of District Attorney Fani Willis’ sprawling indictment, including three of the 13 charges against Trump. However, McAfee said prosecutors could seek a new indictment to try to reinstate the charges he dismissed.
The dismissal was a blow to Willis who was already under fire for her romantic involvement with the special prosecutor in the case.
Steve Sadow, Trump’s attorney in the Fulton County case, applauded McAfee’s ruling, saying it was “a correct application of the law.” Sadow said the District Attorney’s office “failed to make specific allegations of any wrongdoing” on those six counts.
Trump still faces 10 charges in the case, however, Sadow said Willis’ entire prosecution of the former president constituted election interference and “should be dismissed.”
The six counts dismissed involved soliciting public officials to violate their oaths of office. One of the counts stemmed from the January 2, 2021, phone call Trump had with Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in which Trump told Raffensperger to “find” the votes he needed to win.
McAfee said the six counts lacked sufficient detail on the nature of the violations and gave the defendants too little information to intelligently prepare their defenses.
Two days later, McAfee released his decision on the misconduct complaint against Willis and special prosecutor Nathan Wade, ruling that Willis should not be disqualified from prosecuting the case as long as Wade steps down.
McAfee said the romantic relationship between Willis and Wade had the “appearance of impropriety” that should result in either Wade or Willis leaving the case.
Within hours, the District Attorney’s office announced that Fani Willis had accepted Wade’s resignation.
Despite finding against disqualifying Willis, McAfee’s ruling blasted the district attorney for her “tremendous lapse in judgment” and “unprofessional manner” during her testimony last month.
