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President Donald Trump urged a Georgia judge to throw out a criminal lawsuit filed by Fulton County Democrat District Attorney Fani Willis, basing his request on presidential immunity.
The 45th president’s lawyers filed an argument to the Fulton County Superior Court requesting that the incident against Trump be “dismissed,” emphasizing that it is “barred by presidential immunity,” according to the filing.
“The indictment is barred by presidential immunity and should be dismissed with prejudice,” the Fulton County Superior Court filing Monday stated, according to NBC News.
Trump’s team also argued that “the power to indict a current or former President for official acts does not exist,” the outlet reported.
Willis’s lawsuit against the former president claims that Trump allegedly attempted to subvert the 2020 election results within Georgia by violating the Georgia Racketeer Influence and Corrupt Organization (RICO) Act, according to CBS News.
Trump, along with 18 others, including former lawyer Rudy Giuliani and former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, were charged with the 41 counts in August 2023, the outlet reported.
Following the initial release of the lawsuit, Trump’s team argued that the communication with state officials regarding the 2020 election, organizing electors, as well as urging the former vice president and Congress members to certify electors is protected under the president’s “official duties,” according to The Hill.
An attorney for the former president, Steve Sadow, additionally released a statement Monday calling out the “politically-based prosecution” from Willis, according to the outlet.
“President Trump has filed three persuasive, meritorious pretrial motions seeking a complete dismissal of the indictment and thus an end to the Fulton County District Attorney’s politically-based prosecution,” Sadow stated.
Trump’s attorneys claimed within their filing that “no president” has ever faced “criminal prosecution” from acts conducted in office, emphasizing the “unbroken historic tradition.”
“From 1789 to 2023, no President ever faced criminal prosecution for acts committed while in office. That unbroken historic tradition of presidential immunity is rooted in the separation of powers and the text of the Constitution,” the filing stated, CBS News reported.
A trial date has not been confirmed for the case.
