The Fulton County DA has been trying to jail Trump for years. But those hopes have finally been dashed.
Because Trump won a major court victory that broke Fani Willis’ brain.
Georgia’s Court of Appeals dealt another blow to Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis on Friday, rejecting her bid to reinstate six counts in the state’s high-profile 2020 election interference case against President-elect Donald Trump and his co-defendants.
In a unanimous ruling, a three-judge panel upheld Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee’s March decision to dismiss the charges. The court found the indictment lacked the necessary specificity to prepare an adequate defense.
“We find that the indictment fails to include enough detail to sufficiently apprise the defendants of what they must be prepared to meet so that they can intelligently prepare their defenses,” wrote Judge E. Trenton Brown III in his opinion, echoing McAfee’s earlier reasoning.
The racketeering indictment, originally filed in August 2023, accused Trump and 18 others of orchestrating a scheme to overturn his 2020 election loss in Georgia. Since then, Willis has faced mounting challenges to her handling of the case.
Friday’s decision follows Willis’s recent disqualification from the case by the same Georgia Court of Appeals.
Her removal stemmed from revelations about a prior romantic relationship with Nathan Wade, the attorney she appointed to lead Trump’s prosecution.
Adding to her difficulties, Trump’s legal team on Friday asked the Georgia Supreme Court to reject Willis’s appeal for reinstatement to the case. If the appeal is denied, another prosecutor could potentially take over.
However, with Trump’s second inauguration just days away, it remains unclear whether the case will move forward at all.
While the dismissal of the six charges marks a win for Trump and his allies, the primary racketeering charge under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act remains active.
The dismissed counts alleged that the defendants solicited Georgia officials to violate their oaths of office.
Central to the allegations is Trump’s now-infamous phone call to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, during which he purportedly asked the official to “find 11,780 votes” to overturn President Joe Biden’s narrow 2020 victory in the state.
Trump also allegedly sought help from then-Governor Brian Kemp and Republican House Speaker David Ralston to convene a special legislative session aimed at appointing alternative presidential electors. Neither Kemp nor Ralston complied with the requests.
Despite the legal battles, Trump’s political fortunes have surged. Four years after his 2020 defeat, he reclaimed Georgia and every other swing state that had previously supported Biden.
Meanwhile, the legal fallout continues for some of Trump’s co-defendants. Four individuals, including former Trump attorney Jenna Ellis, pleaded guilty to charges in 2023.
Trump and the remaining 14 co-defendants, however, maintain their innocence and have pleaded not guilty.
As Trump prepares to take the oath of office for his second term on Monday, the future of the Georgia election interference case hangs in the balance, leaving open questions about whether justice or political realities will ultimately prevail.
Stay tuned to Prudent Politics.
