Former US President Donald Trump on Thursday formally notified the judge overseeing the Georgia election subversion case that he “may” try to move his state case into federal court, CNN reported.
Trump’s lawyers have previously said they would try to move the case, which could help the former President get the charges dropped by invoking immunity protections for federal officials.
“President Trump hereby notifies the Court that he may seek removal of his prosecution to federal court,” his lawyer Steven Sadow said in a brief court filing quoted by CNN. “To be timely, his notice of removal must be filed within 30-days of his arraignment.”
The 30-day clock began on August 31, when Trump waived his right to an arraignment hearing and entered a not guilty plea.
If Trump is successful in moving the case to a federal court, it would give him additional avenues to get the charges dropped if he can convince a judge that his alleged actions in the indictment were tied to his formal duties as a government official.
If the case stays in state court, the jurors will all come from Fulton County, which President Joe Biden won by a 47-point margin. If the case moves to federal court, the jury pool will be culled from a 10-county region near Atlanta that Biden won by 32 points, a narrower but still comfortable margin.
Trump and 18 others were charged earlier this month in a 41-count indictment that outlines an alleged scheme to subvert the will of Georgia voters in the presidential election.
Trump’s former attorney, Rudy Giuliani, and his former White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, are among those indicted.
Several of the co-defendants are already attempting to move their case to federal court, including Meadows, who testified at a hearing last week as part of his bid to move the case.