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Georgia

Judge dismisses some counts against Trump in Fani

Willis election interference case
Judge Scott McAffee said the state failed to provide sufficient detail in six counts against Trump and his co-defendants
By Chris Pandolfo Fox News

Published March 13, 2024 10:35am EDT | Updated March 13, 2024 1:35pm EDT

Georgia judge quashes 6 counts in Trump election case

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A Fulton County judge has quashed six counts in the Georgia election interference case
against former President Donald Trump and his 18 co-defendants.

Judge Scott McAfee said in an order Wednesday that the state failed to allege sufficient
detail for six counts of "solicitation of violation of oath by public officer."

"The Court’s concern is less that the State has failed to allege sufficient conduct of the
Defendants – in fact it has alleged an abundance. However, the lack of detail concerning
an essential legal element is, in the undersigned opinion, fatal," McAfee wrote.

"As written, these six counts contain all the essential elements of the crimes but fail to
allege sufficient detail regarding the nature of their commission, i.e., the underlying felony
solicited," the judge continued.

JUDGE IN TRUMP'S GEORGIA CASE FACES ELECTION CHALLENGE FROM CIVIL RIGHTS
ATTORNEY

Judge Scott McAfee quashed six counts in the Georgia election interference case against former President Donald Trump
and his 18 co-defendants. (Alyssa Pointer/Getty Images)

"They do not give the Defendants enough information to prepare their defenses
intelligently, as the Defendants could have violated the Constitutions and thus the statute
in dozens, if not hundreds, of distinct ways."

Georgia state law prohibits any public officer from willfully and intentionally violating the
terms of his or her oath as prescribed by law. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis
alleged that Trump and six of his co-defendants illegally attempted to persuade numerous
state officials to violate their oaths in an effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election in
Georgia.

The indictment refers to alleged requests made to members of the Georgia legislature to
unlawfully appoint alternative presidential electors and alleged efforts by Trump and his
then-chief of staff Mark Meadows to solicit Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger
to decertify the election.

NATHAN WADE'S PHONE DATA SHOWS HE MADE MIDNIGHT TRIPS TO FANI WILLIS'
CONDO BEFORE HE WAS HIRED: ATTORNEY

Former President Donald Trump appears during the Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC 2024, in Oxon Hill,
Maryland, on Feb. 24. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Multiple defendants challenged the counts on grounds that Willis did not detail the exact
terms of the oaths that were alleged to have been violated.

McAfee said the indictment should have alleged an underlying felony solicited by the
defendants.

"In other words, a naked charge of solicitation cannot survive unless accompanied by
additional elements establishing the solicited felony," the judge wrote.

Willis did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

"The Court made the correct legal decision to grant the special demurrers and quash
important counts of the indictment brought by DA Fani Willis," said Trump attorney Steve
Sadow. "The counts dismissed against President Trump are 5, 28 and 38, which falsely
claimed that he solicited GA public officials to violate their oath of office."

"The ruling is a correct application of the law, as the prosecution failed to make specific
allegations of any alleged wrongdoing on those counts," Sadow added. "The entire
prosecution of President Trump is political, constitutes election interference, and should
be dismissed."

TRUMP LAWYERS MAKE CLOSING ARGUMENTS IN DA FANI WILLIS ‘IMPROPER’ AFFAIR

ALLEGATIONS: ‘IRREPARABLE STAIN’

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis appears at the Fulton County Courthouse n Atlanta on March 1. (Alex Slitz-
Images)

In addition to overseeing the election racketeering case against Trump, McAfee is also
presiding over allegations brought by a handful of co-defendants that Willis hired special
counsel Nathan Wade when they were secretly romantic lovers and financially benefited More from Politics
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The bombshell allegations led to a blockbuster evidentiary hearing last month in which mass migration'
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Willis and Wade denied the allegations they were in a relationship when he was hired and Caribbean nation's
that Willis never benefited from Wade's position because she would reimburse him with spiraling conflict

cash for all the vacations they took together.

49 mins ago
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McAfee is considering the evidence presented in the hearing and is expected to make a between GOP Rep.
Valadao, Democratic
decision whether Willis and her team should be disqualified from the case in the next two challenger in
battleground
weeks. California district

McAfee said at the start of the proceedings this month that it’s "clear that disqualification 55 mins ago
can occur if evidence is produced demonstrating an actual conflict or the appearance of Congress poised to
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Fox News Digital's Brianna Herlihy contributed to this report.
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Chris Pandolfo is a writer for Fox News Digital. Send tips to chris.pandolfo@fox.com and follow him on
for Afghanistan until
Twitter @ChrisCPandolfo. assured it doesn't
support terrorism

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