By Alabama Public Radio
Birmingham, AL – Attorneys for Richard Scrushy have asked a judge to dismiss nearly all of the 85 counts against the former HealthSouth C-E-O. They say the government has trumped up charges against him. They filed a motion saying the indictment against Scrushy could have been reduced to just eight charges rather than repeating those charges in multiple counts. Scrushy's attorneys also challenged a new federal law used to prosecute him. Scrushy is free on ten million dollars bond. He has pleaded innocent to charges that he earned millions of dollars from a conspiracy to overstate HealthSouth's earnings. His attorneys say the fraud was committed without Scrushy's knowledge. His trial is set for August 23rd.