Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis possibly indicted former President Donald J. Trump and over a dozen other co-defendants without proper jurisdiction. An attorney for one of Trump‘s co-defendants, Harrison Floyd, contends violations of the law related to state elections are under the purview of the state board of elections and not the Fulton County D.A.’s office.
According to Floyd‘s attorney, Chris Kachouroff, Willis’s overall RICO prosecution is predicated on election violations, which means its proper jurisdiction should originate with the state’s board of elections. Kachouroff, in a motion filed with Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee, argues that Willis has overstepped her legal jurisdiction in prosecuting the election-related crimes without a referral from Georgia‘s State Election Board. By resting original jurisdiction with the State Election Board, Kachouroff says “fragmentation of investigative activities” is avoided — meaning the state’s election authority would decide whether charges would be referred to Georgia’s Attorney General or one of 54 district attorneys.
Kachouroff’s initial motion questioning Willis‘s jurisdiction was denied by Judge McAfee, with the judge contending that the D.A. has “shared jurisdiction.” However, McAfee later granted a motion for immediate review of his decision by the Georgia Court of Appeals. If the appellate court — or the Georgia State Supreme Court — agrees with Kachouroff’s legal theory on the jurisdiction, most-if-not-all of the charges against Trump and his co-defendants could be thrown out.
Floyd is accused of soliciting false statements from witnesses, alleging election and ballot fraud. This charge stems from his interactions with Fulton County election worker Ruby Freeman. In a separate civil case, former federal prosecutor and New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani was ordered to pay $148 million for defaming Freeman and Wandrea “Shaye” Moss. Giuliani claimed the two committed ballot fraud during the 2020 election.
