ATLANTA (AP) — A prosecutor in Georgia on Thursday appealed a ruling dismissing some of the criminal charges against former President Donald Trump and other suspects in an election interference case.
The appeal filed by the Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis doesn’t say why an appeals court should reverse the March dismissal. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee quashed six counts in the indictment, including three against Trump, saying the counts did not provide enough detail about the nature of the violations.
The ruling was a setback for Willis, but left much of the sweeping indictment intact.
Willis’ notice of cross-appeal said state law allows prosecutors to file their own appeals prior to trial, while defendants have previously appealed a pretrial ruling.
Trump and the other defendants have asked an appeals court to reverse McAfee’s ruling not to disqualify Willis from the case because of a romantic relationship with special counsel Nathan Wade. An appeals court in Georgia agreed earlier this month to hear the issue.
Trump and 18 others were indicted in August, accused of participating in a vast scheme to illegally try to overturn his narrow loss in the 2020 presidential election to Democrat Joe Biden in Georgia.
All defendants were charged with violating Georgia’s Racketeer and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), a sweeping anti-racketeering statute. Four people charged in the case have pleaded guilty after reaching deals with prosecutors. Trump and the others have pleaded not guilty.
The six dismissed charges accuse the defendants of encouraging government officials to violate their oaths. One count stems from a Jan. 2, 2021, phone call Trump made to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a fellow Republican, in which Trump urged Raffensperger to “find 11,780 votes.”
Another dismissed charge accuses Trump of asking then-Speaker of the Georgia House David Ralston to violate his oath of office by calling a special session of the Legislature to unlawfully appoint presidential electors.
But the judge left in place other charges — including 10 that faced Trump — and also said prosecutors could file new charges to try to reinstate the cases he dismissed.
