A judge in Georgia made a significant ruling on Thursday in the ongoing election subversion case, which includes charges against former President Donald Trump. The judge dismissed three charges, including two that Trump was facing. However, the decision has not yet been formally applied to Trump as his case is on hold pending appeals.
In a separate ruling, Fulton County Judge Scott McAfee upheld the marquee racketeering charge in the case, which Trump is also involved in. Trump's lawyer, Steve Sadow, expressed satisfaction with the rulings, calling them a victory for Trump and his legal team in Georgia.
The charges that were dismissed included one count of filing false documents and one count of conspiring to file false documents, both related to the Trump campaign's efforts to present fake GOP electors in Georgia. Trump was only named in the conspiracy count. Additionally, a separate count of filing false documents, which Trump was charged with, was also thrown out by McAfee. This count pertained to untrue statements about voter fraud included in one of Trump's lawsuits in December 2020.
While the rulings affected former Trump lawyer John Eastman and Georgia state Sen. Shawn Still, who were involved in the fake electors plot, their cases are not paused. Trump was only named in two of the three charges that were dismissed by McAfee.
McAfee's jurisdiction over the case is limited, as Trump and most of his co-defendants are seeking to disqualify Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from overseeing the case. As a result, their cases are on hold with McAfee, who presides in a lower court. However, two defendants, Eastman and Still, chose to proceed with their cases in the lower court instead of joining the appeal regarding Willis' involvement.
Willis, who secured a 13-count indictment against Trump last summer, declined to comment on the recent rulings. McAfee's chambers did not provide immediate clarification on the matter.
