Fulton County DA Fani Willis has not even gotten her case into the courtroom yet, and she has already faced a significant defeat.
Judge McAfee dismissed six of the counts Willis had charged against Trump and his co-defendants in the Georgia election interference case.
Talking Points...
- McAfee drops six counts in indictment
- Comments by Judge McAfee
- Analysis
We all woke up on Wednesday morning to some great news for Trump and his co-defendants in the Georgia election fraud case. The presiding judge, Judge Scott McAfee, has decided to dismiss six charges from the case, three of which were against Donald Trump.
The ruling will not impact the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) charges at the core of the indictment. The charges relate to Trump and several co-defendants' alleged efforts to persuade Georgia election officials to violate their oaths of office. Former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, former New York City Mayor, and Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani are included in the dropped charges.
McAfee made it clear the overall indictment was not being dismissed, but he was very critical of how the charges were presented. He also left the door open for the charges to be reintroduced at a later date.
McAfee stated:
"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's opinion, fatal."
He then provided more context on why the charges were being dropped in the case, stating:
"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.
"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."
So, this is good and bad news for Trump. It is obviously great for him to get some of the charges removed from the case, but Willis could still represent the charges to satisfy the condition laid out by Judge McAfee in his ruling.
McAfee also gave the state an additional six months beyond the statute of limitations to represent the charges. Additionally, he offered the defense the option to apply for a grant to appeal the ruling, which he stated he would "likely grant" since there is no real precedent in such a case.
I would count this as a momentary victory for Trump, but we still have to see how all this plays out in terms of the long game. Remember, McAfee still has to rule on whether Willis can stay on the case, and she could also be facing bar issues because of having lied under oath. This may be just a small crack in the case, but it could spread quickly if the cards fall right for Trump.
