Fani Willis' New Move in Trump Case

Georgia's Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is attempting to reinstate three previously dismissed criminal charges against former President Donald Trump.

Willis indicted Trump last year on 13 felony election subversion charges, one of four criminal indictments issued against the former president. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee in March tossed out six charges against Trump and his co-defendants, including three against Trump, due to their "lack of detail concerning an essential legal element."

On Thursday, Willis filed a notice of cross-appeal to McAfee's ruling. While the notice does not include any legal arguments for the appeals court to overturn the initial ruling, Willis is able to appeal due to Georgia law that allows prosecutors to file appeals if a defendant has filed an appeal first.

A Georgia appeals court is already considering an appeal by Trump's legal team of McAfee's decision to allow Willis to stay on the case following the revelation that she was previously in a romantic relationship with Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade, who left the case due to the ruling.

The previously dismissed charges, which could be reinstated if Willis' appeal succeeds, all concern accusations that Trump and his co-defendants attempted to convince public officials to violate their oaths of office by illegally overturning Trump's 2020 election loss to President Joe Biden.

One of the charges against Trump pertains to his January 2021 phone call to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, when Trump urged the state official to help him "find" enough votes to reverse his loss.

Newsweek reached out for comment to Trump's office via email on Thursday night.

Trump has pleaded not guilty to all criminal charges that he faces in Georgia and elsewhere, while claiming to be the victim of political "persecution" and "election interference" as he campaigns ahead of his expected November rematch with Biden.

In Georgia, 14 of Trump's co-defendants have also pleaded not guilty to charges that include alleged violations of the Peach State's Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. Another four co-defendants have pleaded guilty after reaching agreements with prosecutors.

The Georgia Court of Appeals agreed earlier this month to consider Trump's appeal to the McAfee ruling that allowed Willis to stay on the case. Trump attorney Steve Sadow said in a statement at the time that "Willis should be disqualified for her misconduct in this unjustified, unwarranted political persecution."

Trump lawyers have had far less success with the appeals process in New York, where the former president's hush money criminal trial is expected to conclude with closing arguments next week and a potential verdict soon afterward.

Six weeks after the trial began, the Empire State's appeals court on Thursday rejected two attempts by Trump's team to change the trial's venue and force the recusal of New York State Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan, who is overseeing the case.

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