ATLANTA — Former President Donald Trump is attempting once again to get the Fulton County election case against him thrown out.
Trump's legal team filed three motions Monday aimed at stopping the sprawling racketeering prosecution against him.
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In one motion, the attorneys argue Trump is immune from prosecution, citing presidential immunity and the U.S. Constitution.
In a second, Trump's legal team argues the former president can't be tried in Georgia for 2020 election crimes because Trump was tried and acquitted by the U.S. Senate on the same alleged facts cited in the indictment.
In a third, Trump's attorneys cite due process protections for the former president. They allege Trump wasn't given proper notice that his "forceful political advocacy" over fraud allegations in the 2020 election could be criminalized. Further, his legal team argued that Trump's alleged criminal conduct consists entirely of political speech protected by the First Amendment.
"From 1789 to 2023, no President ever faced criminal prosecution for acts committed while in office. That unbroken historic tradition of presidential immunity is rooted in the separation of powers and the text of the Constitution," one of the motions reads. "The same immunity shields President Trump from criminal prosecution for acts within the 'outer perimeter' of his official duties. The indictment, in this case, charges President Trump for acts that lie at the heart of his official responsibilities as President. The indictment is barred by presidential immunity and should be dismissed with prejudice."
A Washington D.C. judge rejected Trump's previous immunity arguments. A federal appeals court will hear the matter Tuesday, and Trump said he will attend the hearing. The case could go to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Monday was the deadline for a majority of defendants to file most pretrial motions in the 2020 election case.
Georgia State University College of Law Professor Clark Cunningham said Monday he would not be surprised if the judge in the case, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee quickly rejects Trump's motions and sets a trial date with perhaps, only Trump and a few other of the major defendants going on trial in Fulton County first — before the rest of the defendants go on trial.
"Just go to trial with them," Cunningham said. "Jury selection is quicker. Keep it simple, and leave out a lot of the side issues, and just get this thing going. I think that would be in everybody's interest... Georgia could actually be the first place to get a trial going."
Trump and 18 others were indicted by a Fulton County grand jury in August. To date, four people have taken plea deals.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis wants an August 2024 trial date in the case. No trial date has been set.
Cunningham said it's possible that Judge McAfee may wait to see if similar motions in the DC case against Trump end up before the U.S. Supreme Court before he makes his rulings in the Fulton County case.
"If the Supreme Court decides to take the case that deals with the similar motions that were filed today in Fulton County, Judge McAfee might say, well, because the issues are so similar, perhaps we should wait and see what the Supreme Court says," Cunningham said. "The former president and his lawyers are playing a delay game. They want all of these cases to be delayed until after the November election."
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