By Andrew Goudsward
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President-elect Donald Trump asked a Georgia Appeals Court on Wednesday to end the criminal case against him in that state for attempting to overturn his 2020 election loss.
Lawyers for Trump argued that his continued prosecution by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who has also charged several of Trump’s allies, would violate the U.S. Constitution as he prepares to return to the White House next month.
They urged the appeals court to remove Trump from the proceedings and to order a lower court judge to dismiss the case against Trump in its entirety.
A spokesperson for Willis did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Federal prosecutors have already dropped two criminal cases against Trump based on a Justice Department policy against prosecuting a sitting president.
Trump’s sentencing on charges in New York involving hush money paid to a porn star was put on hold indefinitely following Trump’s election victory over Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris. Trump’s lawyers renewed their attempts to dismiss that prosecution on Tuesday.
In Georgia, Trump and 14 others face racketeering and other charges for allegedly forming a criminal conspiracy to reverse Trump’s narrow defeat in the battleground state in the 2020 election.
Trump has pleaded not guilty and has argued that the case, and others he has faced, were politically motivated attempts to damage his campaign.
Trump as president will not have the authority to end the Georgia case, but his lawyers argued that continuing to prosecute him would undermine his ability to govern.
Trump and eight of his co-defendants have asked the appeals court to disqualify Willis from prosecuting the case, arguing that a romantic relationship she had with a former deputy tainted the proceedings. The case has been paused since June because of the appeal.
Oral arguments were scheduled for Thursday, but were postponed by the court last month without explanation.
Trump’s filing applies only to his case. The other co-defendants can continue to press their appeal if Trump is removed from the case.
(Reporting by Andrew Goudsward; Editing by Stephen Coates)
