Trump asks Georgia appeals court to dismiss racketeering case brought by Fani Willis

President-elect Donald Trump asked a Georgia appeals court to quash the criminal racketeering case against him in Fulton County, saying the Constitution forbids his prosecution because he will be inaugurated as president in January.

The five-page filing says a sitting president must be “completely immune” from criminal prosecution at the federal or state level. It says a prosecution would interfere with the executive’s ability to carry out his duties.

“Any ongoing criminal proceeding against a sitting president must be dismissed under the U.S. Constitution,” defense attorney Steve Sadow said. “The two federal criminal cases have already been dismissed by the [Department of Justice].”

Mr. Sadow referred to two cases brought by special counsel Jack Smith, who recently asked federal courts in Washington and Florida to dismiss indictments related to the 2020 election and classified documents found at Mr. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida.

A New York judge indefinitely postponed sentencing on Mr. Trump’s conviction for falsifying business records, so Mr. Trump is trying to hit for the cycle and get rid of his Georgia case.

“President Trump respectfully submits that upon reaching that decision, this court should dismiss his appeal for lack of jurisdiction with directions to the trial court to immediately dismiss the indictment against President Trump,” the filing said.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis started investigating Mr. Trump after he pressured Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger by phone to dig up enough votes to overturn Mr. Biden’s 2020 electoral victory in the state.

A grand jury indicted Mr. Trump and his associates on racketeering charges.

The case ran into a big hiccup. The defense said Ms. Willis had a romantic relationship with a lead investigator on the case, Nathan Wade, resulting in a financial conflict of interest.

The trial judge let Ms. Willis stay on the case after Mr. Wade left the investigation, but the defense appealed that decision, putting the case on hold for months.

Mr. Trump won the election last month, making him the president-elect and giving him leverage to exterminate the criminal cases, which he has long argued were politically motivated.