Judge Scott McAfee presides over a hearing regarding media access in the case against former US President Donald Trump and 18 co-defendents, at the Fulton County Courthouse in Atlanta, Georgia, on August 31, 2023.
Arvin Temkar | AFP | Getty Images
A judge on Wednesday dismissed six counts in the Georgia criminal election interference case against former President Donald Trump and five other defendants, ruling that an indictment failed to sufficiently explain the basis for those charges.
But other criminal counts against Trump and the defendants remain after the order by Judge Scott McAfee.
The dismissed counts had accused Trump and the others of the crime of solicitation of violation of oath by public officer.
The counts related to efforts by the defendants to get members of Georgia’s legislature and the secretary of state to delegitimize the election victory of President Joe Biden over Trump in the state’s 2020 contest.
Defense lawyers for Trump and the others argued, among other things, that the indictment charging them with that specific count did “not detail the exact term of the oaths that are alleged to have been violated,” McAfee noted in his order.
McAfee agreed, saying that the language in the indictment accusing the defendants of soliciting elected officials to violate their oaths to the U.S. and Georgia constitutions “is so generic as to compel” dismissal of the charges.
“On its own, the United States Constitution contains hundreds of clauses, any one of which can be the subject of a lifetime’s study,” McAfee wrote.
Trump was charged with three of the dismissed solicitation counts. One of them, related to his effort to get the speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives to convene a special session to unlawfully appoint presidential electors who would cast ballots for him in the Electoral College.
Another of the dismissed counts accused Trump and his White House chief of staff Mark Meadows with asking Georgia’s secretary of state to unlawfully influence the certified election returns. The third tossed count accused Trump of asking the secretary of state to decertify the election.
This is breaking news. Please check back for updates.
Amanda Smith is a dedicated U.S. correspondent with a passion for uncovering the stories that shape the nation. With a background in political science, she provides in-depth analysis and insightful commentary on domestic affairs, ensuring readers are well-informed about the latest developments across the United States.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25428441/nvidia_chatrtx_og_1200x630.jpg)
