As former President Donald Trump forges ahead with his 2024 campaign, the multiple trials he faces loom large.
In a court filing Thursday, Trump’s lawyers revealed he will not attempt to move the criminal charges brought against him by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to federal court. The former president and 18 co-defendants were indicted in Georgia in August in connection with their attempts to overturn the 2020 election.
The move comes as a surprise, as Trump was largely expected to try to move the Georgia case as part of a bid to invoke immunity protections for federal officials. Under federal law, criminal cases can be removed to federal court if the alleged behavior relates to their government duties.
His lawyers previously told Judge Scott McAfee that Trump “may” try to get the case moved into the federal system. Outside of court, the former president’s representatives had been more explicit in signaling their intention to try to move the case. The deadline for Trump to formally make the request was Friday.
Trump faces 91 criminal charges across four federal indictments.
Meanwhile, the trial in the New York State attorney general’s civil fraud lawsuit against Trump, his eldest sons, their companies, and several executives, remains on track to begin next week after a state appellate court on Thursday denied Trump’s motion to stay the trial.
This comes in the wake of New York state Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron’s ruling Tuesday that Trump and his co-defendants are liable for fraud for grossly inflating asset valuations on financial statements.
CNN’s Lauren del Valle and Kara Scannell contributed reporting to this post.
