A Georgia judge has dismissed two counts of conspiracy against Donald Trump in the case accusing him of interfering in the state’s 2020 election results.
Judge Scott McAfee Thursday ruled that two of the 10 counts remaining against the former president and the 2024 Republican nominee must be dismissed because they relate to alleged federal crimes that are outside the state’s power.
The charges of conspiracy and filing false documents — or counts 15 and 27 — were tossed out.
The two dismissed charges are tied to allegations that Trump and his co-defendants gathered a slate of phony presidential electors and then filed a civil lawsuit in federal court fighting the election result, which contained lies.
One of the dismissed charges accused Trump and others of trying to overturn Joe Biden’s win in the Peach State by attempting to file a forged “Certificate of the Votes of the 2020 Electors from Georgia” making it look like Trump actually won.
The other nixed charge accused Trump and his co-defendants of making false statements and filing false documents to get Georgia lawmakers to “reject lawful” votes.
One count of criminal attempt to commit filing false documents was also thrown out against Trump allies lawyer John Eastman and Georgia elector Sen. Shawn Still (R).
McAfee in another ruling Thursday said the charge of racketeering against Trump and the rest of the co-defendants could proceed to trial.
Trump and 14 co-defendants all pleaded not guilty to racketeering charges and related crimes in their alleged effort to undo Trump’s close loss to then-Vice President Biden.
Three other counts against Trump — who was initially hit with 13 charges in the indictment — were previously dismissed after McAfee ruled in March that the counts connected to the defendants allegedly getting Georgia officials to violate their oaths of office were not specific enough.
The case has been in limbo while Trump’s lawyers ask a state appeal court to boot Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from the case because of her admitted affair with special prosecutor Nathan Wade, who was later ousted from the case.
Still and Eastman’s cases are not on hold as they aren’t party to the appeal over Willis.
Arguments in the appeal case are slated for December, meaning the trial will not go forward against Trump until after the Nov. 5 presidential election when he’ll face off against Vice President Kamala Harris.
“President Trump and his legal team in Georgia have prevailed once again,” Trump lawyer Steve Sadow said in a statement. “The trial court has decided that counts 15 and 17 in the indictment must be quashed/dismissed.”
Willis’ office didn’t immediately return a request for comment Thursday.
With Post wires
