Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has requested Georgia's Court of Appeals to reinstate six charges in the Georgia election interference case against former President Donald Trump and five of his co-defendants.
According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Willis' office filed a brief on Tuesday asking the appellate court to reverse a March ruling by Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee. The judge had determined that the state failed to provide the defendants with sufficient detail regarding the charges, hindering their ability to prepare an adequate defense.
The election-interference indictment, filed in August 2023, "more than sufficiently placed (Trump and his five co-defendants) on notice of the conduct at issue and allowed them to prepare an intelligent defense to the charges," the brief from Willis' office argued. "The indictment included an abundance of context and factual allegations about the solicitations at issue, including when the requests were made, to whom the requests were made and the manner in which the requests were made."
The six dismissed felony solicitation counts that Willis' office aims to reinstate are based on allegations that the defendants unlawfully pressured Georgia officials to violate their oaths by convening a special session of the Georgia Legislature to appoint an alternative slate of pro-Trump electors. The officials involved include Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, then-House Speaker David Ralston, and various members of the General Assembly.
The charges in question were filed against Trump, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, and attorneys John Eastman, Ray Smith, and Bob Cheeley. Initially, the August 2023 indictment included 41 felony counts, but that number has since been reduced to 32. Trump now faces eight felony charges, down from the 13 originally brought against him.
Since June, the case has been on hold as the Georgia Court of Appeals considers whether Willis and her office should be disqualified from the case due to her romantic relationship with former special prosecutor Nathan Wade as well as a public speech she gave at a church where she spoke on the case in fiery rhetoric.
The Court of Appeals will hear arguments for the case on Dec. 5, with Judges Trenton Brown, Benjamin Land, and Todd Markle presiding. A decision is expected by the end of March.