Kenneth Chesebro said a prosecutor failed to take his oath of office.
October 6, 2023, 11:54 a.m. ET
3 minutes read
The judge overseeing Georgia’s 2020 election interference case has denied a request from defendant Kenneth Chesebro to dismiss his case because of a prosecutor’s alleged clerical error.
Chesebro had alleged that Fulton County special prosecutor Nathan Wade, who was brought in by the district attorney to help investigate the election interference case, had not taken the oath of office required to join the prosecution’s team.
His motion alleged that Wade filled out the oath of office but only submitted it last week as required by law — an error that Chesebro said renders Wade’s work “invalid as a matter of law.”
In his order Friday, Judge Scott McAfee said Chesebro’s motion “failed to demonstrate” that the law they cited – that oaths of office must be taken and taken – was “at all relevant” to the prosecutor.
The judge said taking the oath was not required for those working only on a specific case.
“Defendant’s motion acknowledges this exception but then cavalierly proceeds without explaining why it should not apply,” McAfee wrote.
“Despite the lack of record, Special ADA Wade’s actions during his tenure as a de facto official would still be valid,” the judge wrote.
Fulton County Sheriff’s Office
The order comes a day after McAfee rejected another motion to dismiss charges filed by Chesebro’s co-defendant, Sidney Powell.
Chesebro and Powell are scheduled to go on trial Oct. 23 as the first defendants in the case.
She and 17 others, including former President Donald Trump, pleaded not guilty to all charges in August in a sweeping indictment over alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in the state of Georgia.
Defendant Scott Hall then entered into a plea deal in which he pleaded guilty to tampering with voting machine equipment.
