Trump Challenges Underlying Criminal Charges in Georgia

In a series of short court filings on Monday, former President Donald Trump sought to challenge the underlying criminal charges against him in the sweeping Georgia election-racketeering case.

The filings borrow legal arguments already made by three of his co-defendants, attorneys Kenneth Chesebro, Rudy Giuliani and Ray Stallings Smith.

In one filing, Trump's attorney Steven Sadow sought to adopt the "demurrer" — the legal term for a challenge to the sufficiency of an indictment — filed last week by Chesebro regarding the racketeering charge faced by all defendants in the case.

Trump adopts Chesebro's position that "the alleged pattern of racketeering is beyond the ambit of the Georgia’s RICO statute, and alternatively, that count one fails to allege a nexus between the enterprise
and the alleged racketeering activity," Sadow said.

In another filing, Sadow said Trump was adopting Giuliani's motion to quash seven criminal counts that both of them face together.

In a separate filing, Trump also adopted Chesebro's motion to dismiss those same seven charges based on arguments centering on the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which holds that the U.S. Constitution takes precedence over any conflicting state laws.

Trump also separately filed a motion to adopt co-defendant Ray Stallings Smith's motion seeking to quash eight counts of the indictment.

The former president, members of his inner circle, and other Trump allies face a sprawling 97-page indictment accusing them of a wide-ranging conspiracy to overturn the 2020 presidential election. The charges stem from Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ 2 ½-year probe into alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in the state. 

The filings by the former president on Monday were short documents, each containing no more than three sentences stating that he wished to adopt the arguments of a co-defendant.

Trump faces a total of 13 state felony counts in the sprawling election-racketeering case involving 19 defendants who allegedly took part in an effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia.

The Georgia charges are among 91 state and federal felony counts Trump is facing in four different jurisdictions. He has entered not guilty pleas to all charges.

Chesebro is facing seven counts and is scheduled to stand trial beginning on Oct. 23 after requesting a speedy trial under Georgia law. A trial date has not yet been finalized for other defendants.