Georgia has opened a new legal front against former President Donald Trump and several allies—this time over money.
After the election interference case tied to Georgia’s 2020 vote unraveled, Trump and other defendants moved to recover their legal costs under a state law passed last year. The bill requires courts to award reasonable attorney fees when charges are dismissed following the disqualification of a prosecutor for misconduct. The tab they are seeking is steep: nearly $17 million from Fulton County.
State prosecutors are now challenging that effort, arguing the statute itself may not survive constitutional scrutiny.
In a court filing, the head of the Georgia Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council said the law effectively strips counties of any meaningful way to dispute fee claims, violating basic due process. The statute, he argued, forces counties to pay defense bills even though they do not control district attorneys—who are independently elected—and may not have played any role in the decisions that triggered disqualification.
The concern runs deeper than Fulton County. Some Georgia district attorneys serve multiple counties, raising the possibility that taxpayers in one jurisdiction could be left covering legal fees for cases that never touched their borders.
Trump and 18 others were originally charged in a wide-ranging conspiracy case accusing them of trying to overturn Georgia’s election results. The case drew national attention after a recording surfaced of Trump urging a top state election official to “find” enough votes to change the outcome. Trump and most of the defendants pleaded not guilty.
The prosecution later collapsed after an appeals court removed the district attorney from the case, citing the appearance of impropriety tied to her romantic relationship with the special prosecutor she appointed. The charges were ultimately dropped, with state officials concluding that continuing the case would be pointless after Trump returned to office.
That dismissal triggered the fee fight.
Trump alone is seeking more than $6.2 million in reimbursement. Former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark has asked for over $1 million, while former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani has requested more than $300,000. Other defendants have filed their own claims.
State prosecutors say it is not even clear whether the fee law applies here, noting that the district attorney was removed over the appearance of impropriety rather than a direct finding of misconduct. They also point out that while district attorneys receive both state and county funding, the law requires fee payments to come solely from county coffers.
Defense lawyers see it differently. Trump’s legal team insists the statute is sound, noting that it passed with bipartisan support and that the prosecutor was, in their view, removed for improper conduct. Attorneys for other defendants have echoed that position, signaling they will continue to press for payment.
The dispute now leaves Georgia courts to decide whether a law meant to penalize prosecutorial misconduct can be used to shift millions of dollars in legal costs onto local taxpayers—and whether the statute itself can stand at all.
