Attorneys representing President-elect Donald Trump have asked a Georgia appeals court to dismiss the Fulton County racketeering case against him, arguing that a sitting president is immune from indictment or any criminal process. Trump’s lawyers claim that the charges against him should be dropped due to the unconstitutionality of his indictment and prosecution now that he is the President-Elect and will soon become the 47th President of the United States.
The case has been delayed as Trump’s legal team challenged a ruling that denied their request to disqualify Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and her office from prosecuting the case on conflict of interest grounds. The appeals court was supposed to hear arguments on Willis’s disqualification this week but canceled the hearing without explanation.
Trump’s lawyers cited a Justice Department legal memo that states presidents cannot be prosecuted while in office as grounds for dismissing the Georgia case. They urged the court to take action before the inauguration of President Trump, asserting that the indictment should be immediately dismissed.
The Fulton County DA’s office declined to comment on the matter. The Georgia case is one of several criminal cases against Trump, including federal charges which were dismissed last month. Trump was convicted on felony charges in a New York case earlier this year, but sentencing has been put on hold as the judge considers motions to dismiss that case.
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