OAN’s Elizabeth Volberding
12:40 PM – Monday, January 8, 2024
Former President Donald Trump has asked a Georgia judge to drop the case against him alleging that he interfered with the election. Trump claims that he was carrying out his official duties as president and was therefore exempt from criminal prosecution.
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On Monday, Trump’s legal team filed several new motions in Georgia attempting to remove the Fulton County election interference case against him on subjects that include presidential immunity, which they claim “shields him from criminal prosecution.”
In a recent motion, Trump’s legal team contended that the indictment’s allegations, which allege that the former president and 18 others were part of a criminal organization determined to keep him in office following his loss in the 2020 election, falls within the “outer perimeter” of his official presidential duties.
According to Trump’s attorney Steve Sadow, the historical habit over 234 years verifies the ability to indict a current or former president for his official acts that “do not exist.”
“Historical practice over 234 years confirms that the power to indict a current or former President for official acts does not exist,” Trump’s team stated in its 67-page motion. “The indictment in this case charges President Trump for acts that lie at the heart of his official responsibilities as President. The indictment is barred by presidential immunity and should be dismissed with prejudice.”
“Such immunity is particularly appropriate for the President because the Presidency involves especially sensitive duties, requires bold and unhesitating action, and would be crippled by the threat of politically motivated prosecutions,” Sadow argued.
Trump has been confronted with 13 charges in Fulton County, such as a state Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) count charged against each of his co-defendants.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Trump’s legal team asserted that the president’s “official duties” include coordinating with state officials about the administration of the 2020 election, assembling slates of electors, and pressing former Vice President Mike Pence and other members of Congress to certify each of those electors.
“Making statements to the public on matters of national concern — especially matters involving core federal interests, such as the administration of a federal election — lies in the heartland of the President’s historic role and responsibility,” Sadow stated.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has depicted Trump’s actions as a “pressure campaign” against state authorities who he wanted to revoke his defeat.
In addition, Willis portrayed the former president’s efforts as arranging a group of 16 Georgians to “serve as fake electors and say that he had won the state.”
The former president’s counsel contended that he “lacked fair notice” that his fraudulent allegations of election fraud “could be criminalized” and that the United States Senate’s impeachment and subsequent pardon on grounds relating to the “same course of conduct” should ban further legal action.
In a prior statement, Sadow described Willis’ prosecution of Trump as “politically based” and referred to the dismissal motions as “persuasive” and “meritorious.”
The recent motions come as the former president is in the process of battling legal issues over his presidential immunity allegations in his federal election interference case in Washington, D.C. He is anticipated to be in attendance when the D.C. Court of Appeals hears assertions in that case on Tuesday.
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