Georgia judge dismisses three charges in Trump election interference case News
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Georgia judge dismisses three charges in Trump election interference case

A judge in Georgia’s Fulton County dismissed three charges in the state’s election interference case against Donald Trump and others on Thursday, citing a conflict with federal law. Judge Scott McAfee found that Counts 14, 15, and 27 in the state’s indictment must be dropped because an 1890 US Supreme Court ruling preempts states from prosecuting perjury that occurred in federal courts.

Two Trump co-defendants, attorney John Eastman and Georgia State Senator Shawn Still, sought the dismissal of the entire indictment. However, Judge McAfee stopped short of granting the full request, opting to drop only the three charges regarding the filing of false documents with the US District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.

According to the indictment, Trump, Eastman, Still and others, including former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, conspired to file a false slate of electors for the 2020 US presidential election with the federal court in Atlanta. They were charged with criminal attempt or conspiracy to file false documents. Prosecutors also alleged that Trump and Eastman filed a complaint with the court containing six false statements about alleged election fraud, charging the two with filing false documents.

Judge McAfee sided with the defendants on the dismissal of these charges, holding that “Georgia does not have a ‘legitimate interest’ and jurisdiction to punish such [false] statements” because the party affected is the justice system of the federal government. Therefore, according to the judge’s reasoning, only the federal government has jurisdiction over perjury in federal court filings.

Other counts in the indictment, including those related to improper pressure on Georgia officials—notably, Secretary of State Brad Raffensberger—to influence the election results, remain in place.

Although Trump was charged with counts 15 and 27, those charges against him will not be dropped until his appeal seeking to disqualify Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from the case is resolved. The district attorney came under fire for her relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade, whom she appointed to the case.

Oral arguments in the disqualification appeal are scheduled for October.

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