Big Trump Win Ahead of Judge's Decision in Fani Willis Case Out of Georgia
Fulton County Judge Scott McAfee, the judge overseeing the disqualification hearing of District Attorney Fani Willis and Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade, dismissed six charges against former President Donald Trump in the Georgia election interference case (although several charges remain). A decision is expected this week as to whether DA Willis and her team will be removed from the case.
The Hill reports on the judge dismissing the charges:
A Georgia judge dismissed some of former President Trump’s charges Wednesday in the sweeping election interference case against him due to a lack of detail.
Judge Scott McAfee tossed six charges contained in the indictment, including three of Trump’s counts, but his ruling does not impact the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act charge that serves as the foundation of the historic prosecution. . . .
The judge ruled that while the charges do contain the “essential” elements of each crime, they fail to provide enough detail for the defendants to mount their defenses. Under the current charges, McAfee said, the defendants could have violated the law in “dozens, if not hundreds, of distinct ways.”
“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,” McAfee wrote. “However, the lack of detail concerning an essential legal element is, in the undersigned’s opinion, fatal.”
Today’s dismissal is just a temporary win by President Trump that the prosecution can remedy rather easily. The prosecutor in the case—if DA Willis remains as such—can ask for a certificate of review by the court of appeals.
Instead, the prosecutor can do what the judge suggested: Go back to a grand jury in Fulton County and present the charges with more specificity. The prosecutor needs to clean up the issues that the judge cited.
Regardless, the dismissal clearly shows that DA Willis failed to do her job properly before the grand jury in pleading the indictment with specific allegations, thereby meriting a crime. In other words, she did a sloppy job.
In a case of national importance involving a former President, she didn’t do the legal research needed and did a fast and loose job preparing her indictment. The judge noted the sloppiness and said if you’re going to do this indictment, you’re going to do it properly or not at all.
Of course, the big decision is the disqualification hearing that looms in the background. Does today’s news suggest that DA Willis will be kept on the case? The judge’s announcement that today’s ruling “does not mean the entire indictment is dismissed” could suggest as much. However, if DA Willis is removed, the entire legal team will have to start from scratch in prosecuting President Trump.
You may recall that last summer, the ACLJ stepped in to help two parents in their fight against a Nevada public school district that forced their child to perform a pornographic script, lied to the parents, and then prohibited the mother from reading the script before the school board.
How does such a disgusting monologue get into the school curriculum? It’s outrageous. We filed a lawsuit against the school district, and the defendants tried to get the lawsuit dismissed. But we were victorious in federal court, as this case now moves to trial. We will be moving forward in our fight against the sexualization of children in public schools.
Today’s Sekulow broadcast included a full analysis of the judge’s decision to dismiss six charges against President Trump and what the decision portends for DA Willis’ disqualification hearing. ACLJ Executive Director Jordan Sekulow joined us from Strasbourg, France, to update us on our work through our European affiliate, the European Centre for Law & Justice (ECLJ). ACLJ Senior Advisor for National Security and Foreign Policy Ric Grenell also reacted to the ACLJ’s victory in federal court against a Nevada school district.
Watch the full broadcast below: