Judge tosses 6 total charges against Trump, co-defendants in Georgia case: 'Do not give ... enough information'
The Fulton County judge who will soon determine whether DA Fani Willis will be dismissed from the alleged election interference case in Georgia has just tossed a number of charges in that same case.
On Wednesday, Judge Scott McAfee dismissed six total counts of solicitation of violation of oath by a public officer — essentially asking officials, such as the Georgia secretary of state or members of the state legislature, to violate their sworn duties — issued against six co-defendants in the case. Three of those six counts had been assessed against former President Donald Trump.
In his ruling, McAfee suggested that the charges were simply too vague, claiming that they "contain all the essential elements of the crimes" but "fail to allege sufficient detail regarding the nature of their commission."
"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."
McAfee likewise added that the charges were "so generic" and their flaws so "fatal" "as to compel" him to side with the defendants who had petitioned for their dismissal. Those defendants include Trump, Rudy Giuliani, Mark Meadows, John Eastman, and others. Defendants Kenneth Chesebro, Sidney Powell, Jenna Ellis, and Scott Hall have already accepted plea deals in the case.
Trump was originally charged with 13 counts in Georgia last August, and he pled not guilty to all of them. Now that Judge McAfee has quashed three of them, he is down to 10.
Judge McAfee is also expected to rule sometime this week whether Willis will remain as lead prosecutor in the RICO election interference case. Willis has been accused of misconduct after her romantic relationship with fellow prosecutor Nathan Wade came to light. As some have alleged that their relationship began before Willis hired Wade and that Wade's position on the prosecutorial team put hundreds of thousands of dollars in his pocket that he could then use to wine and dine Willis, the relationship is seen as a possible conflict of interest.
There are also allegations that Willis and Wade lied to the court on the stand and in some court documents regarding their relationship.
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