A failed tactic former President Donald Trump previously employed in his Manhattan criminal case could be successful if used in Georgia.
On Monday night, a grand jury in Fulton County, Georgia, voted to indict Trump and 18 others on state-level criminal charges relating to his alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election in the state. The indictment hit the former president with 13 felony charges, including violating Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, solicitation of violation of oath by a public officer, filing false documents, and multiple conspiracy counts.
As highlighted in a recent Politico report, Trump and his legal team may be able to successfully petition for his case to be moved from a state court to a federal one based on the federal “removal statute,” which allows for an officer of the United States who is being tried in a state court to have their case moved to a federal one.
Trump previously attempted this tactic in response to his first criminal indictment from earlier this year: the state-level indictment in Manhattan for allegedly orchestrating a plan to unlawfully hide hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels. The request was ultimately denied by U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein, who ruled that the plan was carried out as “private conduct” outside of Trump’s duties as president. That decision is currently being appealed.
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In Georgia, however, Trump may have better luck seeking removal to a federal court, given that many of the charges he faces in Georgia are tied to his duties and conduct when he was in office. Various legal experts told Newsweek that there is a chance that such a move could be successful.
“It’s about a 50/50 shot of being removed,” Anthony Michael Kreis, assistant professor of law at Georgia State University, told Newsweek.
“I think there’s an outside chance it could happen, which would be unfortunate because it would mean no cameras in the courtroom,” Dave Aronberg, state attorney for Florida’s Palm Beach County, added in another statement to Newsweek.
Speaking to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, former DeKalb County District Attorney J. Tom Morgan said that Trump could take the matter as far as possible.
“That issue could go all the way to the Supreme Court,” Morgan said. “And as we all know, Mr. Trump likes to litigate anything and everything, whether he has a case or not.”
Such a move would potentially be beneficial to Trump, as it would allow for a broader statewide jury pool, rather than one pulled only from Fulton County, where he is notably unpopular. It would allow for the possibility of his trial being assigned to a federal judge that he appointed to the bench, as happened in the classified documents case.
Trump has until Friday to voluntarily surrender himself for arraignment in Fulton County, where he will enter a plea. He has consistently maintained his innocence in the case, as he has done in all of the legal battles that he is currently embroiled in. District Attorney Fani Willis indicated on Monday that she intends for the case to go to trial within six months.