Fulton County, Georgia Judge Scott McAfee on Wednesday tossed three of the counts against fat former President Trump and his minions, former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, bail bondsman Ray Smith, and alcoholic shitbrain Rudy Giuliani, in the sprawling RICO indictment brought by District Attorney Fani Willis over their failed post-2020 election coup attempt in the Peach State.
“These six challenged counts charge various Defendants with Solicitation of Violation of Oath by Public Officer in violation of OCGA §§ 16-4-7 and 16-10-1. The crime of Violation of Oath by Public Officer, OCGA § 16-10-1, prohibits any public officer from willfully and intentionally violating the terms of his or her oath as prescribed by law. The term of the oath alleged to have been violated must be ‘expressly prescribed,’ meaning it is explicitly contained in the applicable statutory provisions… The Court’s concern is less that the State has failed to allege sufficient conduct of the Defendants – in fact it has alleged an abundance. However, the lack of detail concerning an essential legal element is, in the undersigned’s opinion, fatal. As written, these six counts contain all the essential elements of the crimes but fail to allege sufficient detail regarding the nature of their commission. They do not give the Defendants enough information to prepare their defenses intelligently, as the Defendants could have violated the Constitutions and thus the statute in dozens, if not hundreds, of distinct ways,” McAfee wrote while spiking other motions to dismiss.
The bad news is that Trump’s felony counts have dropped from 91 to 88. The good news is that, barring the disqualification of Fani Willis which McAfee is set to rule yes or no on this week, this obviously streamlines the case and makes it possible to bring it to trial sooner.