(LifeSiteNews) — Donald Trump’s attorney has served notice that the former president may seek to have his trial based on charges that he conspired to overturn the 2020 presidential election moved from a Georgia State Court to a federal court, a move which might benefit Trump in multiple ways.
“Federal court could be more favorable for Trump because he would face a more politically diverse jury pool than in Fulton County, a Democratic stronghold,” according to a Reuters report. “A federal trial would also allow him to argue that he is immune from prosecution for actions he took as part of his official duties as president.”
The advantage of removing the trial from a Fulton County courtroom based solely on broadening the jury pool is clear.
Trump won less than 27% of the vote in the 2020 election in Fulton County. If his case were to be tried in a federal court, jurors would be drawn from 10 counties consisting of Atlanta and its suburbs, where Trump won 33% of the vote.
It’s also possible, but less likely, that if Trump’s case is prosecuted in federal court jurors could be chosen from the entire 43 county Northern District of Georgia where Trump won 46% of the vote in 2020, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC).
In a criminal case, the jury must be unanimous in order to convict a defendant of a crime. “Adding jurors from more Trump-friendly areas increases the likelihood that there could be more holdouts, given Trump’s deep popularity among many conservatives,” noted AJC’s Shannon McCaffrey.
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By signaling their likely attempt to move their client’s case to a federal court, Trump’s attorneys were following the lead of some of his alleged co-conspirators, including his former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows.
There are other potential advantages to moving the case from a state to federal court.
Simply litigating for an attempted move could substantially delay the trial, a strategy, CNN notes, “Trump has employed time and time and time and time again.”
“If the case is removed to federal court and goes to trial, the limits of Georgia’s RICO statute – which has been used aggressively and successfully by Willis – could be under the microscope of a federal judge, who would be able to field novel legal challenges to it by a defendant,” wrote CNN’s Devon Cole in August.
“Unlike the Fulton County courtroom where the proceedings are expected to unfold, cameras are not allowed in federal courts, something that could be advantageous for Trump, who is running for president again,” noted Cole. “Trump and Meadows could also argue in federal court that they are protected because their efforts were part of their official duties as president and White House chief of staff, respectively.”
Following his attorney’s filing of the written waiver of arraignment on August 31, 2023, Trump now has 30 days to file his petition to be tried in federal court.
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A Georgia grand jury indicted former President Trump and 18 co-conspirators on racketeering charges in mid-August.
The indictment cited 41 counts in connection with Trump’s alleged attempts to pressure Georgia officials into tilting the 2020 election results in his favor – a claim his supporters have argued is inaccurate, and that Trump simply sought to identify and toss out illegal ballots.
At the time of the indictment, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis said the “indictment alleges that rather than abide by Georgia’s legal process for election challenges, the defendants engaged in a criminal racketeering enterprise to overturn Georgia’s presidential election result.”
Despite the Peach State charges and those filed against him in other states, Trump’s popularity among his supporters has not been diminished. The 45th president of the United States who now seeks to be the 47th continues to maintain a commanding lead among the pack of several GOP candidates.