On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Donald Trump might be entitled to immunity from his behavior during the final days of his presidency and as it pertained to the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. That decision may have damning effects on the Georgia racketeering case against him.
That case, which was spearheaded by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, is currently on hold as an appeals court evaluates if Willis can stay on the case at the request of Trump and his co-defendants. The Georgia case also has some of the same matters as special counsel Jack Smith’s prosecution of Trump on federal election interference charges.
There hasn’t been a trial date set by Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee yet. One of the motions before him is Trump’s attempt to get the charges thrown out based on grounds of presidential immunity. The Supreme Court’s 6-3 ruling stated that Trump’s contacts with Justice Department officials about his stolen election claims are protected by immunity.
The High Court also said that Trump is “presumptively immune” from being prosecuted for his contacts with former Vice President Mike Pence right before the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol. Interestingly enough, those contacts are also referenced in the Georgia case.
Trump is expected to push to dismiss the Georgia case on the grounds of immunity with a subsequent hearing to follow. The Supreme Court ruling did not decide on the issue of immunity regarding Trump’s contacts with people outside the federal government, including Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.
On Jan. 2, 2021, Trump called Raffensperger and encouraged him to “find” more votes than President Joe Biden. That call is a vital part of the Fulton County indictment as well as the effort to recruit alternate presidential electors for Trump.
Trump is still awaiting sentencing following his conviction in his hush money case earlier this year.