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Six dismissed charges accusing former President Donald Trump and five others of illegally soliciting Georgia officials to violate their oaths of office should be reinstated, Georgia prosecutors told an appeals court.
In a brief for the state’s Court of Appeals, lawyers for Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis said a judge “erred” when he dismissed the charges in March.
The charges, which were among a total of 41 filed against Trump and 18 others in 2023, accuse six of the defendants of trying to coerce state officials into helping overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. Trump himself faced 13 counts in the indictment and pleaded not guilty.
Judge Scott McAfee said in March that the charges of solicitation must be dismissed, writing that Willis’ office failed to provide the defendants with enough information about the charges to defend themselves.
“The lack of detail concerning an essential legal element is, in the undersigned’s opinion, fatal,” McAfee wrote.
Willis’ office shot back in their brief, which was filed Tuesday, saying the indictment “included an abundance of context and factual allegations about the solicitations at issue, including when the requests were made, to whom the requests were made and the manner in which the requests were made.”
Steve Sadow, Trump’s lead counsel in the case, said in a statement the brief “is simply incorrect on the law.”
“The trial court’s dismissal order properly decided that the State failed to sufficiently plead the allegations in the dismissed counts under Georgia law,” Sadow said.
The dismissed counts accuse Trump, former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and attorneys Rudy Giuliani, John Eastman, Ray Smith and Bob Cheeley of illegally trying to influence various state officials after the 2020 election.
McAfee also dismissed another three counts regarding filing false documents in September, including two against Trump. Prosecutors are expected to appeal that decision as well.
The case is one of three against Trump that have stalled this year. The Fulton County case has been on hold since June, when the Court of Appeals agreed to consider whether Willis should be removed from the case for a romantic relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade that has been criticized by defense attorneys and McAfee.
A federal case accusing Trump of illegally removing confidential national security material from the White House was dismissed in July. Special counsel Jack Smith is appealing that decision.
Proceedings in the other federal case brought by Smith’s office, revolving around Trump’s alleged efforts to overthrow the 2020 election results, were delayed for months as the Supreme Court considered issues related to presidential immunity.
In May, Trump was convicted of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. The New York State case stemmed from an effort before the 2016 presidential election to suppress an adult film star’s story of an extramarital sexual encounter.
Trump has denied wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty in all four of his criminal cases.
Big Lots is adding dozens of locations to its list of stores slated to close as part of the discount retailer’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy process.
The Columbus, Ohio-based company plans to shut down another 56 locations in 27 states, it said in a regulatory filing on Friday.
The development comes a week after Big Lots listed 46 stores facing closure in 23 states, with each of those locations currently running closing sales, according to Big Lots’ online store locator.
Big Lots last month filed for bankruptcy protection from its debts, saying it intended to sell what remained of its business to private equity firm Nexus Capital Management. Big Lots in August announced plans to close up to 315 stores.
There are 1,145 Big Lot locations in the United States, according to the company’s website.
Here are the recently added stores slated to close.
Alabama
- 142 Green Springs Highway, Homewood 35209
Arkansas
- 150 E Oak Street, Conway 72032
Arizona
- 1799 Kiowa Avenue #106, Lake Havasu City 86404
California
- 16824 Main Street, Hesperia 92345
- 1201 E Manning Avenue, Reedley 93654
- 2727 N Grand Avenue, Santa Ana 92705
- 2685 Hilltop Drive, Redding 96002
Colorado
- 893 S Kuner Road, Brighton 80601
Connecticut
- 1235 Farmington Avenue, Bristol 06010
Florida
- 751 Good Homes Road, Orlando 32818
- 14948 N Florida Avenue, Tampa 33613
Georgia
- 4200 Wade Green Road NW Ste 144, Kennesaw 30144
- 160 Market Square, Cartersville 30120
Illinois
- 1383 E Pershing Road Suite A, Decatur 62526
- 8750 N 2nd Street, Machesney Park, 61115
Indiana
- 1538 North Morton Street, Franklin 46131
- 918 W Lincoln Highway, New Haven 46774
- 440 New Albany Plaza, New Albany 47150
Iowa
- 3320 Agency Street, Burlington 52601
Kansas
- 7408 Nieman Road, Shawnee 66203
Louisiana
- 3250 Gerstner Memorial Drive, Lake Charles 0601
Maryland
- 1815 Pulaski Highway, Edgewood 21040
- 1200 Smallwood Drive W, Waldorf 20603
Michigan
- 29712 Southfield Road, Southfield 8076
- 30000 Plymouth Road, Livonia 48150
Missouri
- 603 SW US Highway 40, Blue Springs 64014
- 691 Gravois Bluffs Boulevard, Fenton 63026
Nebraska
- 850 E 23rd Street, Fremont 68025
New Mexico
- 465 Coors Blvd NW, Albuquerque 87121
- 9500 Montgomery Boulevard NE, Albuquerque 87111
North Carolina
- 223 New Market Center, Boone 28607
Ohio
- 60 E Schrock Road, Westerville 43081
- 1733 Pearl Road Suite 125, Brunswick 44212
- 6235 Wilson Mills Road, Highland Heights 44143
- 26425 Great Northern Plaza, North Olmsted 44070
Oklahoma
- 2144 S Sheridan Road, Tulsa 74129
- 1200 N Hills Center, Ada 74820
Pennsylvania
- 15501 Bustleton Avenue, Philadelphia 19116
- 2631 Macarthur Road, Whitehall 18052
Tennessee
- 791 West Elk Avenue, Elizabethton 37643
- 2020 Gunbarrel Road Ste 186, Chattanooga 37421
Texas
- 3512 Lamar Avenue, Paris 75460
- 2729 New Boston Road, Texarkana 75501
- 425 Sawdust Road Suite A, Spring 77380
- 1374 W Main Street, Lewisville 75067
- 850 N Bell Boulevard #104, Cedar Park 78613
- 2249 S Loop 288, Denton 76205
- 4002 Sunset Drive, San Angelo 76904
Virginia
- 4300 Portsmouth Boulevard, Chesapeake 23321
- 6571 Market Drive, Gloucester 23061
- 8151 Brook Road, Richmond 23227
Washington
- 2401 N Pearl Street, Tacoma 98406
- 120 N Fair Avenue, Yakima 98901
- 11696 NE 76th Street, Vancouver 98662
- 3019 W Kennewick Avenue, Kennewick 99336
Wisconsin
- 1800 Milton Avenue Suite 100, Janesville 53545
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