On Thursday, a Georgia judge dismissed three charges from the indictment against former U.S. President Donald Trump and his co-defendants, who are accused of conspiring to overturn the 2020 election results in the state.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee threw out two of the charges directly involving Trump, reducing his total felony count in Georgia to eight. However, Judge McAfee declined to dismiss the entire indictment, which includes allegations of racketeering and other offenses against Trump and his allies.
The dismissed charges pertained to the submission of fake elector certificates to a federal court, falsely declaring Trump as the winner of the Georgia election, despite losing to Joe Biden by approximately 12,000 votes.
Judge McAfee cited the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution, which asserts that state law must defer to federal law in cases of conflict. He explained that state prosecutors cannot bring charges for federal crimes.
The dismissed charges included counts of filing and conspiring to file false documents. The case has been put on hold by an appeals court, which is set to review Trump and his co-defendants’ request to disqualify Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who filed the charges.
In March, Judge McAfee had previously rejected an attempt to disqualify Willis after it was revealed she had a romantic relationship with a special prosecutor she had appointed. Trump and his co-defendants have appealed this decision, and the Georgia Court of Appeals is scheduled to hear arguments in December.
Until the appeals court issues its ruling, the dismissal of the two counts of filing false documents against Trump remains on hold.