Fulton County DA appealing judge’s decision to dismiss some Trump Georgia election subversion charges

By Sara Murray, CNN

(CNN) — Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is appealing a judge’s decision to dismiss several counts in the Georgia election interference indictment against former President Donald Trump and several codefendants.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee, who is presiding over the sprawling racketeering case, ruled in March that six charges in the 41-count indictment related to Trump and some co-defendants allegedly soliciting the violation of oath by a public officer lacked the required detail about what underlying crime the defendants were soliciting.

The move from Willis comes after an appeals court said it will consider whether she should be disqualified from prosecuting the case after McAfee said she could remain on the case. The appeals court decision gave the district attorney an opening to try to re-litigate other decisions by the lower court judge.

Steve Sadow, an attorney for Trump in Georgia, called the filing “not unexpected.” The former president was named in three of the dismissed counts, but McAfee’s ruling left most of the indictment against Trump and his co-defendants in tact.

Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges and he and his co-defendants are pushing for Willis to be disqualified from the case. The Georgia Court of Appeals said earlier this month that it would consider the challenge to McAfee’s ruling, which allowed Willis to remain on the case if she removed the special prosecutor with whom she had engaged in a romantic relationship.

The issues before the appeals court are likely to further delay any potential trial start and McAfee has not yet addressed when he might set a date.

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