President Donald Trump is seeking to recoup millions in legal fees from Georgia after an election interference case against him was dismissed last week.
Trump faced racketeering charges stemming from an alleged attempt to alter the results of the 2020 presidential election in the state. The case fell apart piecemeal after Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis was accused of violating personal ethics over her relationship with the lead prosecutor in the case. She was later removed from the case.
The newly assigned DA declined to pursue the case. Trump’s defense attorney in Georgia, Steve Sadow, said that they will be “moving for attorney’s fees and costs.” Sadow cited a section of Georgia law, GA Code §17-11-6, which gives state criminal defendants the right to recover legal fees on dismissed cases when the prosecutor is “disqualified due to improper conduct on the part of such prosecuting attorney.”
No petition has been filed at the time of writing, but the cost of those fees could prove to be great. Sadow said that Trump could receive millions.
“My expectation is that for President Trump, the amount of attorneys’ fees and costs could run close to $5 million,” he told Atlanta news outlet 11Alive.
Start your day with essential news from Salon.Sign up for our free morning newsletter, Crash Course.
Including the fees for Trump’s co-defendants, Georgia taxpayers could be on the hook for as much as $10 million. Sadow maintained that the money would come from the existing budget of the Fulton County district attorney’s office, with no additional costs to taxpayers.
“It’s unfortunate that her budget will be so affected. But she’s the one who brought the case, and she’s the one who has to live with the outcome,” Sadow said.
