BALTIMORE, Md. — A federal judge has dismissed several of the charges against State Senator Dalya Attar.
The charges of extortion via interstate communications and violations of the Travel Act have been dropped in a court document filed Friday.
The judge granted a motion by Attar and her two co-defendants to dismiss these specific charges.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: 'This is not extortion,' says Dalya Attar's attorney in motion to dismiss charges
On the counts of extortion, the judge wrote, "[a]lthough this court does not condone the conduct alleged in the indictment, because § 875(d) does not criminalize it, this Court must dismiss Counts Two and Three."
Essentially, the judge reasoned that the alleged conduct would meet the common law definition of coercion but does not meet the legal definition of extortion.
The judge gave a similar reason for dismissing counts Five through Eight: "Thus, because the state statutes specified in the Travel Act counts do not proscribe the conduct alleged in the indictment, this Court must dismiss Counts Five–Eight."
MORE: Baltimore City State Senator Dalya Attar indicted on federal charges of extortion and conspiracy
Attar still faces one count of conspiracy and one count of interception and disclosure of a wire, oral, or electronic communication.
Attar remains a state senator representing District 41 in Northwest Baltimore, though she lost her June Democratic primary to Delegate Malcolm Ruff.
WMAR-2 News has reached out to Attar's attorney for comment, to which they replied:
"The motion to dismiss was based on a nuanced area of law relating to extortion offenses. We felt strongly that our motion to dismiss the six extortion-based charges in the indictment was on solid legal ground and we were heartened by Judge Gallagher’s obvious grasp of the issues as well as her ruling."
