The Georgia judge that dismissed six counts in Donald Trump's election interference case pointed to a "fatal" mistake by prosecutor Fani Willis in his ruling - but also noted that the state could move to re-indict the former president on those dismissed charges.
Trump, his former attorneys and his former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows were all indicted in Georgia in a wide-ranging racketeering case, based on the former president's alleged attempts to interfere with the 2020 election results. Trump, Meadows, and lawyers Rudy Giuliani, John Eastman, Ray Stallings Smith and David Cheeley have all pleaded not guilty.
The dismissed counts - three of which were specific to Trump - dealt with the defendants' alleged attempts to solicit state officials to violate their oaths of office. Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee argued that the charges were "generic" in his dismissal.
"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. However, the lack of detail concerning an essential legal element is, in the undersigned's opinion, fatal," McAfee wrote.
McAfee argued that the charges "fail to allege sufficient detail regarding the nature of their commission, i.e. the underlying felony solicited," adding that the lack of detail would make it too challenging for the defendants to adequately prepare for their trials.
The state can still move to re-indict the defendants on the six dismissed charges, McAfee wrote in a footnote.
"Even if the statute of limitations has expired, the State receives a six-month extension from the date of this Order to resubmit the case to a grand jury."
