Former President Donald Trump and his lawyers received a round of good legal news this week.
According to The Hill, Judge Scott McAfee announced that he tossed a total of six charges in the election interference case out of Georgia, brought against the former president by Fulton County DA Fani Willis.
The announcement came as a massive blow to Willis and her office, especially as her fate on the case will likely be determined by week's end.
The charges dropped this week by the judge were all related to "solicitation" allegations regarding Trump's intentions in calling state officials about the results of the 2020 election.
Judge McAfee cited a "lack of detail" regarding the specifics of the solicitation charges.
Georgia state law requires the charges to be at a felony level, but Willis, in her indictment, didn't make that clear enough for the judge to warrant keeping them active.
The Hill noted:
The judge ruled that while the charges do contain the “essential” elements of each crime, they fail to provide enough detail for the defendants to mount their defenses. Under the current charges, McAfee said, the defendants could have violated the law in “dozens, if not hundreds, of distinct ways.”
"The Court’s concern is less that the State has failed to allege sufficient conduct of the Defendants – in fact it has alleged an abundance," McAfee wrote. "However, the lack of detail concerning an essential legal element is, in the undersigned’s opinion, fatal."
Judge in Trump's Georgia Case Dismisses Certain Charges
• A Fulton County judge threw out several counts in the election interference case against former President Donald Trump and co-defendants.
• Six counts related to Solicitation of Violation of Oath by a Public Officer… pic.twitter.com/GzQWDUcrzL
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) March 13, 2024
The judge added that the dismissal of the six charges "does not mean the entire indictment is dismissed," and said the charges could be refiled down the road.
Trump lawyers react
The former president's attorney on the Georgia case, Steve Sadow, celebrated the quashing of the six charges.
“The ruling is a correct application of the law, as the prosecution failed to make specific allegations of any alleged wrongdoing on those counts. The entire prosecution of President Trump is political, constitutes election interference, and should be dismissed," Sadow said.
Willis' office hasn't commented on the development.
Trump's supporters on social media reiterated that all of his charges should be dropped.
