What happens to Trump's Georgia election interference case after his election win?
What happens to Trump's criminal charges?
There is a big question raised by the Trump victory: What happens now to all the criminal charges still hanging over him, including a case in Fulton County? The president-elect had a lot on the line if he lost Tuesday. Here's what legal experts say will likely happen since he won.
FULTON COUNTY, Ga. - President-elect Donald Trump's victory in the 2024 election could end his election interference case in Fulton County.
Trump and 18 of his allies were indicted by a grand jury in 2023 under Georgia's Racketeer Influence and Corrupt Organizations Act - or RICO.
The nearly 100-page indictment details dozens of acts by Trump or his allies to undo his defeat in the 2020 election by President Joe Biden, including beseeching Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to find enough votes for him to win the battleground state; harassing an election worker who faced false claims of fraud; and attempting to persuade Georgia lawmakers to ignore the will of voters and appoint a new slate of electoral college electors favorable to Trump.
More than a year after the indictment, the case had stalled with no chance of going to trial before the end of the year.
Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump arrives to speak during an election night event at the Palm Beach Convention Center on Nov. 06, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Florida. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
The case has been further complicated by allegations of an "improper affair" between Fulton County District Attorney FAni Willis and Nathan Wade, a prosecutor she hired to help bring the case against Trump. Willis and Wade acknowledged the relationship but said they had split travel and other costs.
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A Fulton County Judge found that the pair showed a "tremendous lapse in judgment" but had no conflict of interest as long as Wade left the case. Wade resigned hours later.
Trump and other defendants have appealed the judge's ruling, and the Georgia Court of Appeals is set to hear arguments in December with a ruling expected by mid-March. In the meantime, the appeals court has barred Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee from taking further action against Trump and the others participating in the appeal while it's pending.
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Even if the appellate court decides that Willis can remain on the case, it seems unlikely she could move forward with the prosecution with Trump back in the White House.
Defense attorney Manny Aurora represented lawyer Kenneth Chesebro, one of the co-defendants who pleaded guilty in 2023.
Speaking to FOX 5 I-Team's Johnny Edwards, Aurora said that the case "is done" and was "a colossal waste of our Fulton County tax dollars."
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"There's going to be no consequences whether the allegations are true or not," Aurora said.
In July, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that former presidents have absolute immunity from prosecution for official acts that fall within their "exclusive sphere of constitutional authority" and are presumptively entitled to immunity for all official acts. They are not protected for unofficial, or private, actions.
Trump’s lawyers in Georgia had already filed a motion earlier this year asserting presidential immunity. If Willis is allowed to continue her prosecution at some point, his lawyers will surely use the Supreme Court ruling to argue it should be dismissed, causing more delays.
Whatever the result of the arguments over the Supremacy Clause, Trump's lawyers have also said they will seek to pause the case against Trump until the Republican president-elect is out of office.
Fani Willis, the District Attorney of Fulton County, Georgia inside her office chambers in the Fulton County Justice Center Tower in Atlanta on Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2022. Photo by David Walter Banks
"Unfortunately, they took two years to bring it or however much time it was," Aurora said. "This just shows you - if you're going to bring charges, expedite it."
While Trump's case may not proceed, the other defendants, including former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows or Trump's attorney and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, could see their cases still go forward.