Atlanta prosecutors drop bid to fire defense attorney in Trump trial

Following his indictment in New York in early April, the Georgia investigation into Mr. Trump could face another state-level criminal charge. The lawsuit filed Wednesday is the latest twist in a standoff between prosecutors and defense attorneys that stems from efforts to turn potential defendants into cooperating witnesses.

Those efforts contributed to the delay in the decision on the Georgia issue. Ms Willis indicated late last month that any charges expected in May would not come until mid-July at the earliest.

Last month, Ms. DeBrow and her co-counsel at the time, Holly Pearson, accused some of their clients of not informing their clients of immunity offers. for their cooperation.

Ms. Willis said at the time, Ms. Debrow was representing one of her clients who was making allegations against another, which amounted to an inadmissible conflict.

But in a motion filed last week, Ms. Debrow pushed back hard against both claims, calling them “irresponsible, frivolous, offensive and completely without merit.” He also said eight of his clients were offered immunity deals and all of them accepted.

In a statement on Wednesday, Ms. Debrow suggested last month that Ms Willis had engaged in inappropriate behavior by making unsubstantiated claims about herself and Ms Pearson and should be punished for it.

“It’s time to get the facts straight before the DA files its plea publicly,” he said. “Because she did not, the DA cannot avoid sanctions by dismissing her motion without merit.”

The issue of pro-Trump voters is one of several storylines being investigated by prosecutors in Georgia, including Mr. Trump called state officials, including Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensberger, to urge them to “find” enough votes. There election results.

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A total of 16 electors voted for Mr Trump in Georgia. Some of them retained their own lawyers. Prosecutors have previously identified all voters as potential targets to face criminal charges. But three of them were considered particularly vulnerable to indictment by people familiar with the investigation.

Two of the three were previously identified as clients of Ms. DeBrow: Shawn Still, a Georgia state senator, and Kathy Latham, a Republican Party chairperson in rural Coffee County, Ga.

Third, David Shaffer is the chairman of the Georgia Republican Party. He was, at one time, a client of Ms. Debrow and Ms. Pearson, but is now represented by Ms. Pearson and another attorney.

Both Ms. Pearson and Ms. Debrow have been paid by the state Republican Party.

A special grand jury indicted more than a dozen people after hearing testimony in a nearly seven-month trial, and its predecessor strongly indicated that Mr. Trump was one of them in an interview with The New York Times in February.

Pro-Trump voters, Mr. They argued that it was within their rights to cast electoral votes for Trump and seek to preserve his preferences if a lawsuit challenging the election results is successful. (not that.)

Mr. Trump’s lawyers filed a motion in March to quash the special counsel’s final report, much of which remains sealed, and to remove Ms. Willis from the investigation. The judge gave Willis until Monday to respond.

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