3 more counts are dismissed in indictment : NPR

ATLANTA — A judge has dismissed three more counts in a Georgia election interference lawsuit against former President Donald Trump and his allies.

But in a separate ruling, the judge upheld the indictment’s underlying charge, organized crime.

Grand Jury Indicted President Trump and 18 others were indicted in Georgia more than a year ago for trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Four of the defendants have pleaded guilty.

The three counts that were dismissed were: Counting 14, 15, 27 All three involve filing false documents in federal court. Trump has been charged with two of those three counts.

Fulton Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee dismissed the three lawsuits under the U.S. Constitution’s Supremacy Clause, which says state law must follow federal law when it conflicts with federal law.

In March, McAfee had six other charges in the indictment dismissed; 32 felony counts remain.

Trump now faces eight felony charges, down from the 13 in the original indictment.

For many of the defendants, including Trump, the case has been paused pending an appeal of whether Fulton District Attorney Fani Willis can continue to take over the case due to alleged misconduct, meaning that the charges at issue against defendants involved in the effort will not actually be dropped until the case is reopened.

The Georgia Court of Appeals is scheduled to hold oral arguments in December to consider whether Willis should remain in the case. A decision is not expected until next year.

A New York jury convicted Trump of 34 felony counts in May, but other cases against the former president have stalled or been dismissed outright. A federal judge in Florida dismissed a classified documents lawsuit against Trump.

The federal election interference case was also postponed and scaled back by a U.S. Supreme Court ruling granting the president broad immunity from criminal prosecution for many official acts.