A judge on Thursday dismissed two counts against former President Donald Trump in a case brought by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.
Judge Scott McAfee declined to dismiss the entire indictment under the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution, but found that some counts, including two counts against Trump and one against a co-defendant, “exceed the jurisdiction of this state.” Indicted In August 2023, Trump and 18 others will be indicted for allegedly interfering with the 2020 election in Georgia.
“President Trump and his legal team in Georgia have won again,” Steve Sadow, Trump's lead attorney in the Fulton County case, said in a statement. “The Court has determined that counts 15 and 27 of the indictment must be vacated/dismissed.”
McAfee pleaded guilty to counts 14, 15 and 27 of the indictment, which included charges of filing false documents in federal court, to dismissal. (RELATED: Judge Marchan postpones Trump's sentencing date until after the election)
ATLANTA, GA – MARCH 28: Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee presides during a hearing at the Fulton County Courthouse in Atlanta, Georgia on March 28, 2024. Trump's lawyers sought dismissal of the Georgia election lawsuit on the basis of First Amendment rights. (Photo by Dennis Byron Pool/Getty Images)
Overall, McAfee found that the indictment was “within the scope of state authority pursuant to the appointment power granted to the states by Article II, Section 1 of the United States Constitution and the police powers reserved to the states by the Tenth Amendment.”
“Because the subject matter of the indictment is inextricably linked to the function of the national government, it is not wholly barred by the Supremacy Clause,” McAfee wrote. “But because counts 14, 15, and 27 are beyond the state's jurisdiction and must be struck out, defendants' motion to dismiss the indictment under the Supremacy Clause is granted in part.”
McAfee dismissed six other counts, including three against Trump, in March.
In June, the case against Trump was put on hold while the Georgia Court of Appeals considered a defense motion to disbar Willis. Judge McAfee allowed Willis' case to proceed in March, but found “significant indications of impropriety” in her romantic relationship with special counsel Nathan Wade, whose appointment the defense alleged she benefited financially from.
The Daily Caller News Foundation previously reported that Willis offered Wade a contract at $250 an hour, compared with $200 an hour for the state's top fraud expert, but Willis maintained he paid all three special prosecutors the same amount.
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