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President Donald Trump is seeking nearly $6.3 million from Fulton County, Georgia, in connection with a dismissed case against him, which was pursued by District Attorney Fani Willis. In 2023, Willis indicted Trump under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, alleging that he acted illegally in his efforts to contest the results of the 2020 presidential election.
The case was eventually dismissed, and in December 2024, the Georgia Court of Appeals stated that a lower court had erred in allowing Willis and special prosecutor Nathan Wade, who is also her romantic partner, to choose between stepping aside, according to the website Law and Crime.
The court ruled that the “significant appearance of impropriety” meant Willis and her office should be “wholly disqualified.” Willis appealed that decision but she lost in court.
This led to a motion seeking to recover $6.3 million in attorneys’ fees, referencing a Georgia law that stipulates that when a district attorney is dismissed, the defendant in the case “shall” be entitled to a payout.
The motion filed on Wednesday by attorney Steve Sadow, representing Trump, spans three pages and includes approximately 200 pages of attachments detailing the costs Trump seeks reimbursement for.
Arguing the law “mandates such recovery when a prosecuting attorney is disqualified due to improper conduct and the case is dismissed,” the motion said Willis launched a “politically motivated, lengthy investigation.”
“This dismissal paves the way for the award of reasonable attorney fees and litigation expenses,” the motion said.
“Each of the necessary elements have been met: DA Willis was disqualified based upon improper conduct, the criminal case was dismissed, and the criminal case was pending when the statute went into effect. This motion is timely filed,” the document added, noting as well that co-defendants in the case can also seek reimbursement.
“President Trump intends to adopt the motions for attorney fees and costs filed by his co-defendants,” a footnote said. “He will do so in a separate pleading after all such motions are filed.”
The statute states that when a prosecutor is “disqualified due to improper conduct on the part of such prosecuting attorney” and the case is summarily “dismissed by the court or a subsequent prosecutor tasked with prosecuting such case following such disqualification,” then “any defendant against whom such charges are dismissed shall be entitled to an award of all reasonable attorney’s fees and costs incurred by the defendant in defending the case.”
In an interview with Law & Crime, Sadow said the case was “rightfully dismissed.”
“In accordance with Georgia law, President Trump has moved the Court to award reasonable attorney fees and costs incurred in his defense of the politically motivated, and now rightfully dismissed case brought by disqualified Fani Willis,” he said.
Sadow acknowledged that this is a setback for taxpayers but noted that they are suffering due to Willis attempting to leverage her prosecution to advance her career.
“Of course, I feel for them. Unfortunately, for them as well, they made the choice for Fani Willis,” he said, according to WAGA-TV.
“Fani Willis brought this politically motivated, ill-fated case. She got disqualified; she lost. And the law says, now her office has to pay for her conduct,” he said.
Willis plans to intervene in the case regarding reimbursement, according to reports.
Willis last month mounted an aggressive defense of her failed prosecution of Trump and his allies, testifying for more than three hours before a Georgia Senate panel investigating her conduct in the high-profile election interference case.
The appearance before the Senate Special Committee on Investigations marked Willis’ first testimony under oath in the nearly two-year inquiry into her office’s handling of the Trump prosecution, her relationship with former special prosecutor Nathan Wade, and allegations of political coordination with the Biden administration.
“I know you are somewhat offended that I had the audacity to prosecute these folks that came into my county and committed crimes,” Willis told senators in a defiant tone. “But this wasn’t special to me. This was another day of business.”
