5th Georgia elections indictment case defendant asks to move case to federal court

WSBTV.com News Staff
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Another one of the 18 co-defendants in the Georgia indictment of former President Donald Trump has filed a motion to move their case from state court to federal court.

Cathy Latham, the former chair of the Coffee County GOP, was indicted in the sprawling RICO case from Fulton County DA Fani Willis due to her role as a so-called false elector in 2020.

Latham was also shown on security footage allowing a team of investigators linked with fellow indictee and election denier Sidney Powell into the Coffee County Elections Office to allegedly illegally download voting information from Dominion voting machines.

She surrendered and was then processed, booked, and released from the Fulton County Jail on Friday.

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From the Fulton County indictment, Latham faces charges of violating the Georgia Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act, impersonating a public officer, forgery in the first degree, making false statements and writings, criminal attempt to commit filing false documents, two counts of conspiracy to commit election fraud, conspiracy to commit computer theft, conspiracy to commit computer trespass, conspiracy to commit computer invasion of privacy, and conspiracy to defraud the state.

Latham’s court filing, submitted by her legal counsel, said she possesses a right to move to federal court because she was acting under the authority of a federal officer of the United States.

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Additionally, the filing said the state charges require the construction of federal law and said the Court could also remove state action on grounds of lacking jurisdiction for prosecuting an elector for the U.S. Electoral College, related to conduct for a federal election.

The documents submitted ask for removal to federal court say her actions were taken due to her status as “an Officer of the United States,” and cited federal statutes designed “to protect federal officers from interference by hostile state courts.”

More specifically, “Mrs. Latham was furthermore acting to assist the President, and was following the advice of the President’s legal counsel for the purpose of preserving the challenge to the election results,” Latham’s filing reads, adding that her actions construe the relevant federal statutes “broadly.”

The document from Latham was submitted Friday. No response by a court or the District Attorney’s Office was available in the court records to view at time of publication.

Other co-defendants in the case who have asked to move their cases to federal court include Mark Meadows, Jeffrey Clark, David Shafer, and Shawn Still.

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