Georgia lawmakers pass bill that could let Trump, others recover costs of US election meddling case

ATLANTA: Georgia's Senate passed a bill that could allow President Donald Trump and more than a dozen people to seek compensation for legal bills stemming from an attempt to overturn his 2020 election loss in the state. The bill passed unanimously by state legislators Thursday would enable compensation from counties for attorneys' fees and other legal costs in criminal cases in which a district attorney has been disqualified if the case gets dismissed, or compensation for the cost of arguing the district attorney should be disqualified. The accusations included asking Georgia's Republican secretary of state to find enough votes for Trump to win the battleground state, harassing an election worker and attempting to persuade Georgia lawmakers to ignore the will of voters and appoint a new slate of electoral college electors. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis was disqualified from the election interference case by a state appeals court based on a romantic relationship she had with special prosecutor Nathan Wade, whom Willis hired to lead the case.