Trump Deals Fani Willis Another Blow
Former President Donald Trump secured a huge win against the Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis on Thursday.
Willis indicted the former president and 18 others in August 2023. However, Willis’ case has continued to suffer significant blows, with experts doubting if the case will ever go to trial. The DA was almost thrown off the case after reports emerged that she was having an affair with Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade.
However, Judge Scott McAfee declined to kick her off the case after Trump and his co-defendants argued that she benefited financially from their prosecution.
Willis’ case suffered another crushing blow on Thursday after Judge McAfee dismissed two counts against the former president. McAfee ruled that Willis lacked the standing to bring the charges against Trump. The dismissed charges involved the filing of false documents in federal court.
Steve Sadow, lead counsel for Trump in the Fulton County case, released a statement, saying that the former president has prevailed again.
“President Trump and his legal team in Georgia have prevailed once again,” Sadow said. “The trial court has decided that counts 15 and 27 in the indictment must be quashed/dismissed.”
The latest ruling means five of the original 13 counts in Willis’ indictment against Trump have now been dismissed. Judge McAfee dismissed three counts against the former president in March. In dismissing the case, McAfee ruled that Willis’ allegations that Trump and his co-defendants tried to get Georgia officials to violate their oaths of office were not detailed enough.
Trump has continued to face several legal issues since last year. So far, the former president has been indicted four times and lost two other civil lawsuits, forcing him to pay millions in compensation.
The former president was convicted in May after a Manhattan jury found him guilty on all 34 counts of falsifying business records.
The former president has enjoyed some success in some of his legal challenges. In July, Federal Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed the classified documents indictment against the former president. Cannon ruled that Special Counsel Jack Smith’s appointment violates the Constitution’s Appointments Clause and Appropriations Clause.
Cannon ruled that Smith’s appointment breached the role of Congress in the appointment of constitutional officers and authorizing expenditure by law.
The Supreme Court also ruled earlier this year that the former president’s official duties were immune from prosecution. George Washington’s law Professor Jonathan Turley has argued that the ruling means the Manhattan verdict could be thrown out.