The Georgia Court of Appeals upheld the dismissal of six counts from the indictment against President-elect Trump and five others in the state's election interference case. The three-judge panel agreed with a lower court's finding that the indictment fails to give the defendants enough detail about the charges to sufficiently prepare their defenses, reports Courthouse News Service. Judge E. Trenton Brown wrote in the unanimous ruling that the court's decision stems from Georgia Supreme Court precedent.
In March, the judge overseeing the election interference case dismissed six counts against Trump, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, lawyer John Eastman, former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and attorneys Ray Smith and Bob Cheeley. The six challenged counts charged the defendants with "solicitation of violation of oath by public officer," a felony. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee found that the indictment failed to cite what oaths each of the solicited public officers was required to take. One of the counts against Trump — for soliciting the speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives to violate his oath of office by urging him to call a special session to unlawfully appoint presidential electors — was also dropped. Despite Friday's ruling, the fate of the case itself remains in limbo. The same court has ruled that prosecutor Fani Willis should be removed due to an "appearance of impropriety." Willis has asked the Georgia Supreme Court to make the last call on whether the Trump charges should be handed to a new prosecutor.
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