Prosecution: Defense attorneys have conflicts in Trump RICO case

ATLANTA — The Fulton County District Attorney’s office claims six defense attorneys involved in the racketeering case against former President Donald Trump and 18 others have conflicts of interest because some of their former clients may be called as witnesses for the prosecution.

In a notice filed with the court Wednesday, Fulton prosecutors wrote that defense attorneys Chris Anulewicz, Amanda Clark Palmer, Scott Grubman, Harry MacDougald, Bruce Morris and Don Samuel face a “significant risk” of violating the State Bar of Georgia’s professional standards if they continue representing defendants in the case. The attorneys could be in position to crossexamine their prior clients if allowed to continue, the DA’s office said.

Those former clients who could be called as witnesses include Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and former Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, as well as unnamed state lawmakers and members of the State Election Board, among others.

Some of them were called as witnesses to testify before the special purpose grand jury that spent eight months investigating the alleged conspiracy. Others were involved in separate lawsuits surrounding the contested results in the 2020 presidential election.

The filing asked Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee to look into the potential conflicts and take “appropriate remedial measures” to protect the rights of witnesses and defendants in the case.

Should McAfee side with prosecutors, it could mean the attorneys — who are counted among the most prominent and battle tested criminal defense lawyers in Atlanta — could no longer take part in the Trump case.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reached out to the attorneys cited in the filing for a response.

In a succinct email, Morris replied, “There is no conflict.”

Anulewicz also said he has no conflict of interest in the case “and we will be filing a response in due course.”

Grubman on Wednesday acknowledged that he “briefly” represented Raffensperger and his wife, Patricia, but said he had already obtained signed waivers from them and his current client, Kenneth Chesebro, dismissing any claim of conflict of interest.” Both Raffenspergers could be state witnesses.

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