ATLANTA — Former President Donald Trump will not try to move his Georgia 2020 election case to federal court, his lawyer said in a filing Thursday.
"President Trump now notifies the Court that he will NOT be seeking to remove his case to federal court. This decision is based on his well-founded confidence that this Honorable Court intends to fully and completely protect his constitutional right to a fair trial and guarantee him due process of law throughout the prosecution of his case in the Superior Court of Fulton County, Georgia," attorney Steve Sadow wrote.
The decision comes after Sadow hinted that the former president might make that move. Five of Trump's codefendants are attempting to move their election cases to federal court.
A federal judge ruled against former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows' removal bid earlier this month. Meadows appealed the ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. No decision has been made on the appeal.
The other four codefendants had removal hearings before U.S. District Court Judge Steve C. Jones last week. No rulings have been issued on their requests.
They are:
- Former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark
- Former Coffee County GOP Chair Cathy Latham
- Current Georgia Sen. Shawn Still
- Former Georgia GOP chair David Shafer
Prosecutors with the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office allege that Clark acted outside of the bounds of his authority when he falsely claimed that the Justice Department had “identified significant concerns that may have impacted the outcome of the election in multiple States, including the State of Georgia” in letters he wanted sent to state leaders, including Gov. Brian Kemp.
Latham, Still and Shafer were three of 16 Republicans who signed Electoral College documents claiming Trump won the 2020 election.
Clark, Latham, Still and Shafer have argued they were federal officers and shouldn't be prosecuted in Fulton County Superior Court. Trump's lawyers were in the courtroom for these hearings.
Trump and 18 codefendants were indicted by a Fulton County grand jury last month on charges they criminally interfered in the 2020 election.
This is a breaking story that will be updated.