[Politics] Trump unexpectedly says he won't seek to move his Georgia election case to federal court

[El Máster Edwin]

The notification comes weeks after the former president’s attorneys said that he was considering attempting to move the case to a federal venue.

Former President Donald Trump at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla., on March 18.

 

Former President Donald Trump will not seek to move his criminal election interference case in Georgia to federal court, according to a court filing Thursday.

The filing comes weeks after the former president's attorneys notified Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee, who is presiding over the case, that he might attempt to pursue a federal venue.

"This decision is based on his well-founded confidence that this Honorable Court intends to fully and completely protect his constitutional right to a fair trial and guarantee him due process of law throughout the prosecution of his case in the Superior Court of Fulton County, Georgia," Trump attorney Steven Sadow wrote.

 

The Fulton County District Attorney’s Office declined to comment.

Trump is facing charges related to allegations that he and 18 co-defendants sought to overturn his election loss in Georgia. Some of his co-defendants have made efforts to move their cases to federal court, which would allow them federal defenses to the charges and could offer more favorable jury pools.

All 19 defendants have pleaded not guilty in the case.

 

A federal judge on Sept. 8 denied former Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows’ bid to move the Georgia criminal case against him to federal court. That ruling came a day after a Trump attorney said the former president might seek a similar move.

During a hearing last week, lawyers for former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark, also pressed to move their client's case to federal court, arguing that Clark was operating in his official capacity when he prepared a document that falsely claimed the Justice Department had identified “significant concerns” that may have affected the outcome of the election in Georgia and other states.

As Trump's civil and criminal cases pile up, with one scheduled to go to trial next week and others scheduled to start when the GOP primary season is in full swing next year, he has argued that such trials should be postponed until after the 2024 presidential election.

 

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