By Blessing Nweke
President Donald Trump is seeking more than $6.2 million in attorney fees and legal costs from the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office following the dismissal of the Georgia election interference case against him.
In a motion filed Wednesday, Trump requested $6,261,613.08, citing a Georgia law passed last year that allows defendants to recover “all reasonable attorney’s fees and costs” if a prosecutor is disqualified for improper conduct and the case is subsequently dismissed. Under the statute, any awarded fees would be paid from the budget of the prosecutor’s office, subject to review and approval by the presiding judge.
The request stems from the removal of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from the case over what appellate judges later described as an “appearance of impropriety.” Willis had pursued an indictment against Trump and 18 others in August 2023, accusing them under Georgia’s racketeering law of participating in a coordinated effort to overturn Trump’s narrow 2020 election loss to Democrat Joe Biden in the state. Four defendants later pleaded guilty.
Willis was disqualified after it emerged that she had a romantic relationship with Nathan Wade, the special prosecutor she appointed to lead the case. Although a trial judge initially ruled that Willis could remain if Wade stepped aside, the Georgia Court of Appeals removed her in December. The Georgia Supreme Court declined to take up her appeal.
After Willis’ removal, the nonpartisan Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council appointed its executive director, Pete Skandalakis, to oversee the case. He dismissed it in November, less than two weeks after assuming control.
Trump’s lead Georgia attorney, Steve Sadow, said the former president was entitled to reimbursement under state law for defending against what he called a “politically motivated” prosecution. A spokesperson for Willis declined to comment on Trump’s filing, though her office has previously argued the fee-shifting law raises constitutional concerns, including separation-of-powers and due process issues.
The judge overseeing the matter will now determine whether Trump and other defendants are entitled to recover their legal expenses.
Original article
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