Georgia court halts Donald Trump’s 2020 election interference case
Trump is accused of engaging in a criminal conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia.
Washington:
A Georgia appeals court on Wednesday put a stay on all proceedings against former US President Donald Trump and his co-defendants in an election interference case in the southern state.
Trump, 77, is accused in Georgia of engaging in a criminal conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election result in the state, where Democrat Joe Biden won by about 12,000 votes.
In March, the judge hearing the case rejected a request by Trump and several other co-defendants to disqualify the district attorney, who faced allegations after it was revealed she had a romantic relationship with the man she had appointed as a special prosecutor.
Trump and his co-defendants appealed Judge Scott McAfee’s ruling, and the Georgia Appeals Court said this week it would hear the appeal on October 4.
On Wednesday, the appellate court ordered a stay on all proceedings pending the outcome of the appeal.
The court’s order makes it virtually certain that the case will not reach a trial before the November presidential election, in which Trump is expected to face Biden again as the Republican nominee.
The case also includes as evidence a taped phone call in which Trump asked a top Georgia elections official to “find” enough votes to overturn the result.
Trump was convicted last week in a separate criminal case in New York in which he falsified business records to pay money to a porn star who alleged they had a sexual relationship.
Eighteen co-defendants were indicted in Georgia along with Trump on fraud and other charges, including his former personal attorney Rudy Giuliani and former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows.
Trump’s four original co-defendants, including three former campaign lawyers, have pleaded guilty to less serious charges in deals that spared them prison time.
Trump also faces federal charges of conspiring to overturn the results of the 2020 election and for allegedly storing top secret documents at his Florida home and refusing to turn them over.
None of these cases are expected to be settled before the election.
Trump’s lawyers have repeatedly sought to postpone his various court cases until after the election because federal charges against him could be dropped if he wins.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)