AP is reporting that the judge overseeing the Georgia 2020 election interference case, Scott McAfee, dismissed on Wednesday some of the charges against former President Donald Trump and others, but the rest of the sweeping racketeering indictment remains intact.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee wrote in an order that six of the counts in the indictment must be quashed, including three against Trump, the presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee. But he left in place other counts — including 10 facing Trump — and said prosecutors could seek a new indictment on the charges he dismissed.
Per ABC, “The order from Judge Scott McAfee dismissed six counts related to a specific charge: Solicitation of Violation of Oath by a Public Officer. Of the 13 counts Trump faced, three of them were tossed by the judge’s order. Trump now faces 10 counts in the case.
In addition, per ABC, Wednesday’s order by the judge quashes three of the 13 counts against Giuliani, who no longer faces two counts of solicitation and one count of false statements and writings, according the order. The judge’s order quashes one of the two counts against Meadows, who now faces one count — the racketeering or RICO count that all 19 defendants were charged with. It also quashes one of the nine counts against Eastman; three of the 12 counts against Georgia lawyer Ray Smith III; and one of the 10 counts against Georgia lawyer Robert Cheeley.
To be clear, the ruling notes that the state can appeal if it doesn’t agree with the ruling; it also is a ruling that does not address the question of whether Fani Willis can continue on the case — the hearing has dealt with allegations of conflict of interest for Fani, however this ruling does not address that issue at all. Also still at issue is the phone call Donald Trump made to Secretary of State Brad Raffensberger to force him into finding 11,000 votes so he could fraudulently secure the win.
