Trump seeks to recover $6M in legal fees after dismissal of Georgia election interference case
President Donald Trump on Wednesday filed a motion in Fulton County, Georgia, seeking to recover more than $6 million in legal fees after the election interference case against him was dismissed earlier this year.
The court filing claims District Attorney Fani Willis "began a politically motivated, lengthy investigation in February 2021" and that he is now entitled to recover those fees because of Willis' disqualification from the case -- as a result of a new law that allows for exactly that.
Trump and 18 others pleaded not guilty in August 2023 to all charges in a sweeping racketeering indictment for alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in the state of Georgia, but Willis was subsequently disqualified from the case following accusations of impropriety regarding her relationship with a fellow prosecutor, and the case was ultimately dropped.
In the wake of the case, the Georgia legislature passed a bill that would "provide for the award of reasonable attorney's fees and costs in a criminal case to the defendant upon such defendant making a successful motion to disqualify the prosecuting attorney for misconduct in connection with the case." The Republican state senator who introduced the bill said he did so with the Trump case specifically in mind.
In Wednesday's filing, Trump's attorneys said they're seeking about $6.2 million for the reimbursement of fees paid to eight firms that handled Trump's defense.
Asked for comment by ABC News, a spokesperson for the DA's office said they had "filed a motion to intervene in the matter that is pending," but declined to comment further.
The motion came on the same day that federal prosecutors moved to dismiss a long-running assault case against Harrison Floyd, one of Trump's 18 co-defendants in the Fulton County election case, after Floyd was accused of attacking two FBI agents in 2023 as they attempted to serve him with a subpoena in a related case.
The rare decision to drop the federal charge came shortly after Trump in November issued a largely symbolic grant of clemency to individuals who worked on his behalf to challenge the results of the 2020 election.
In a court filing Wednesday, the Trump-appointed U.S. attorney in Maryland informed the federal judge overseeing Floyd's case that her office "moves to dismiss without prejudice the criminal complaint in the above-captioned case." The judge approved the request soon afterward.
Prosecutors did not provide an explanation for the dismissal.
The charge stemmed from an incident in February 2023 when Floyd allegedly assaulted two FBI agents sent on behalf of then-special counsel Jack Smith to serve him with a subpoena related to Smith's federal election subversion probe, according to court records. Floyd, a former Marine and mixed martial arts fighter, allegedly rushed at the agents and spit in their faces, the records show.
During the encounter, Floyd shouted profanities at the agents, including "YOU F------ PIECE OF S---!" and "WHO THE F--- DO YOU THINK YOU ARE," according to an affidavit. One of the agents showed Floyd his firearm in an effort to de-escalate the confrontation, according to the affidavit.
This past November, Trump issued all defendants in the Georgia election case a sweeping pardon, though the move was largely symbolic as the cases were brought at the state level and therefore fell outside the scope of presidential pardon power.
Floyd's attorney, Carlos Salvado, told ABC News at the time that the language in Trump's clemency order might also apply to Floyd's otherwise unrelated federal assault charge.
Reached by ABC News on Wednesday, Salvado welcomed the dismissal. "I'm extremely happy for my client," he said. "It's a hell of a way to start 2026."
A Justice Department spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment from ABC News.
