More of former President Donald Trump's legal woes are in the news, but this time it appears his Georgia case is taking a turn for the better.

Judge Scott McAfee of the Fulton County Superior Court has dismissed two counts in the criminal indictment that former President Donald Trump is currently facing in Georgia, as Fox News reported.

The allegations, which were purportedly related to the filing of false documents in federal court, were not brought by prosecutors, according to McAfee.

The decision on September 12 resulted in the removal of five of the original 13 criminal counts in the indictment of Fulton County prosecutor Fani Willis. In March, McAfee eliminated three additional individuals who were associated with Trump.

From the Parties

“President Trump and his legal team in Georgia have prevailed once again,” Trump attorney Steve Sadow said in a statement to reporters

The case has been on pause for quite some time as it was scheduled to be heard by an appeals court in December, where the question of whether Willis should be disqualified will be addressed.

In 2023, Willis filed a 41-count indictment against Trump and 18 of his allies. At present, there are 14 co-defendants.

My comment as Lead Counsel for President Trump in the Fulton County GA case:

President Trump and his legal team in Georgia have prevailed once again. The trial court has decided that counts 15 and 27 in the indictment must be quashed/dismissed.

— Steve Sadow (@stevesadow) September 12, 2024

Reconsideration of Case

The defense had asked McAfee to dismiss the charges on the grounds that they violated the supremacy clause of the United States Constitution, and McAfee agreed.

“After considering the briefing and argument of counsel, the court finds the indictment is not barred entirely,” he said in his Sept. 12 ruling.

He went on to say that the "state's ability to prosecute perjury and false filings in a federal district court" was preempted by a federal government decree from the Supreme Court in 1890.

In the case of In Re Loney, which took place in 1890, a lower court in Virginia decided to release a man from custody after his arrest. He faced charges of deliberate perjury in relation to a disputed congressional election.

More From the Judge

McAfee said in the Sept. 12 ruling: “At its core, Loney concerns the ability of a federal tribunal to police its own proceedings.”

The judge's decision caused him to dismiss three charges against Trump: conspiracy to commit filing false documents, conspiracy to commit forgery in the first degree, and criminal attempt to commit filing false documents.

The notion that state laws could be superseded by the Electoral Count Act—which specifies how votes are to be counted—was rejected in part by McAfee in his ruling. The idea that the federal government can supersede state laws in a certain domain is known as preemption.

The indictment, he said, was "within the scope of state authority under the appointment powers granted in Article II, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution and the police powers reserved by the states in the 10th Amendment."