Donald Trump has had two criminal charges dismissed in Georgia alleging he tried to overturn the 2020 presidential election, with a presiding judge ruling Thursday that the charges fell under the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which bars state prosecutors from prosecuting federal crimes.
“The Federal Supremacy Clause declares that state law must follow federal law when state and federal law conflict,” Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee wrote in his order.
The judge ruled that two counts against Trump and additional counts against several of his associates who were charged as co-defendants should be dismissed, but ruled that the remaining indictments, including Rico’s organized crime charges, can stand.
Trump now faces eight charges, down from 13. He pleaded not guilty last year along with 18 other co-defendants in a massive Fulton County trial over interference in the 2020 election. Four subsequently took plea deals and agreed to testify against the others.
The charges against Trump that were dismissed were charges of filing a false document and conspiracy to file a false document, which related to a scheme by the Trump campaign to submit a false electoral certificate declaring Trump the winner despite his loss.
The forged electoral certificates were sent to the National Archives prior to Congress’ certification of Joe Biden’s electoral victory on January 6, 2021, and Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis filed forgery charges.
“President Trump and the Georgia defense team have won again: the Court has ruled that counts 15 and 27 of the indictment should be vacated/dismissed,” Trump’s lead lawyer, Steve Sadow, said in a statement.
McAfee’s 22-page order comes as the fate of Willis’ case remains uncertain amid his alleged affair with deputy Nathan Wade and before the Georgia Court of Appeals decides whether Willis can continue in the case.
McAfee refused to remove Willis from the case so long as Wade resigned to resolve the conflict of interest allegations, but Trump’s lawyers appealed the decision.
Trump’s legal team continues to argue that Willis has a conflict of interest, but also that she should have been disqualified because she spoke about the case during a speech at Big Bethel AME Church in downtown Atlanta. After her relationship with Wade was revealed, Willis argued that the legal attack was racially motivated.
Also Thursday, McAfee rejected a motion by former Trump attorney John Eastman and Trump fake elector Sean Still to dismiss the entire indictment on the grounds that it was based on an overly broad interpretation of Georgia’s organized crime law.