By Jack Queen
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Donald Trump may seek to move a Georgia criminal case accusing him of conspiring to reverse his 2020 presidential election loss from state to federal court, according to a Thursday court filing.
The former U.S. president and front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination was indicted along with 18 others in August on charges that he pressured Georgia election officials to overturn Democratic President Joe Biden’s election victory in the state.
Trump has denied wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty, along with the rest of the defendants.
Federal court would be a more favorable venue for Trump because he would face a more politically diverse jury pool than in Fulton County, Georgia, the Democratic stronghold where the case was filed.
A federal trial would also allow him to argue that he is immune from prosecution for actions he took as part of his official duties as president.
Several of Trump’s co-defendants, including his onetime Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, have already filed petitions to move their cases.
A judge is expected to rule on those petitions in the coming weeks.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington and Jack Queen in New York; editing by Susan Heavey and Cynthia Osterman)
