(MENAFN) On Wednesday, a state judge in Georgia permitted a racketeering case against former President Donald Trump to proceed, while simultaneously dismissing six out of the 41 election-related charges leveled against him.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee, in a nine-page ruling, stated that the six charges against Trump and five co-defendants lacked adequate specificity. These charges pertained to alleged endeavors aimed at persuading officials to breach their oaths of office in an effort to overturn state election outcomes.
McAfee remarked that the dearth of specifics in the indictment deprives Trump's attorneys of the ability "to prepare their defenses intelligently" since the defendants could have potentially breached the law "in dozens, if not hundreds, of distinct ways."
"The Court’s concern is less that the State has failed to allege sufficient conduct of the Defendants – in fact it has alleged an abundance. However, the lack of detail concerning an essential legal element is, in the undersigned’s opinion, fatal," McAfee noted.
"As written, these six counts contain all the essential elements of the crimes but fail to allege sufficient detail regarding the nature of their commission, i.e., the underlying felony solicited," he stated. "This does not mean the entire indictment is dismissed."
The judge extended a six-month period for prosecutors to re-present the charges to a grand jury. The case against Trump and 18 co-defendants revolves around purported attempts to overturn Georgia's 2020 presidential election results.
Trump faced indictment by a Georgia grand jury in August on 13 criminal counts, encompassing violations of the state Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, solicitation of violation of oath by a public officer, conspiracy to commit impersonating a public officer, and conspiracy to commit false statements.
McAfee dismissed the solicitation charges.
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