President Donald Trump is asking the state of Georgia to reimburse $6.26 million in attorney fees he incurred while defending his election interference case.
The motion, filed on January 7 in Fulton County Superior Court, states that President Trump “moves this Court for an order awarding reasonable attorney fees and costs incurred in defense of this action,” citing a statute which “mandates such recovery when a prosecuting attorney is disqualified due to improper conduct and the case is dismissed.”
According to the filing, the case’s dismissal “paves the way for the
award of reasonable attorney fees and litigation expenses.” The motion explains that “[e]ach of the necessary elements have been met: DA Willis was disqualified based upon improper conduct, the criminal case was dismissed, and the criminal case was pending when the statute went into effect.”
Steve Sadow, Trump’s lead attorney in Georgia, said in a statement on the matter, “In accordance with Georgia law, President Trump has moved the Court to award reasonable attorney fees and costs incurred in his defense of the politically motivated, and now rightfully dismissed, case brought by disqualified DA Fani Willis.”
Upon dropping Willis’ case against Trump, Georgia prosecutor Pete Skandalakis wrote, “In my professional opinion, the citizens of Georgia are not served by pursuing this case in full for another five to ten years,” and noted that the case needs to conclude in order to “serve the interests of justice and promote judicial finality.”
“The criminal conduct alleged in the Atlanta Judicial Circuit’s prosecution was conceived in Washington, D.C., not the State of Georgia. The federal government is the appropriate venue for this prosecution, not the State of Georgia,” he explained in a 22-page filing.
