Judge Scott McAfee

Judge Cuts Three Charges from Georgia Case Against Trump

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee has narrowed the long list of accusations against former President Donald Trump and multiple co-defendants by removing three counts from Georgia’s 2020 election interference indictment. 

In an order issued Friday, McAfee dismissed Counts 14, 15, and 27, which involved claims of conspiring to submit false paperwork and attempting to file fraudulent documents. Before the dismissals, Trump faced Counts 15 and 27.

CBS News reports that McAfee’s concerns about these counts were not new. In March 2024, McAfee dismissed six other charges from the indictment; three charges applied to Trump. The judge also dropped two more charges pertaining to the case in September 2024.

Despite the latest dismissals, the case remains significant. Thirty-two charges remain active, including a wide-ranging racketeering count that names 15 defendants.

The same day Judge Scott McAfee dismissed three counts in Georgia’s election interference case, Peter J. Skandalakis, executive director of the Prosecuting Attorneys Council of Georgia, appointed himself to lead the prosecution. In a press release, Skandalakis revealed that his office was unable to find another prosecutor before McAfee’s deadline, which would have resulted in the indictment being dismissed. 

Skandalakis wrote that “the public has a legitimate interest in the outcome of this case,” stressing the need for an informed and transparent decision on how to proceed. 

Skandalakis’ new role in the case comes after former President Donald Trump issued pardons to all 18 co-defendants in this case, as well as other Georgia Republicans. Yet Trump’s pardons do not affect the pending state charges.

Trump’s Georgia attorney, Steve Sadow, says his legal team “remains confident that a fair and impartial review will lead to a dismissal of the case.”