Fanny Willis removed from Georgia election interference case
A state appeals court on December 19 removed Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from the Georgia election interference case against Donald Trump and others, but did not dismiss the indictment, leaving the future of the prosecution uncertain.
The case against Trump and more than a dozen others had been largely stalled for months while the Georgia Court of Appeals considered the pretrial appeal.
The new ruling means it is up to the Georgia Board of Attorneys General to find another prosecutor to take over the case and decide whether to continue pursuing it, although that could be delayed if Ms. Willis decides to appeal to the state. supreme court.
It is the latest legal victory for Mr. Trump as he prepares to return to power for a second term, further underscoring how criminal cases that just a year ago threatened to derail Mr. Trump’s political career and endanger him personally have now tended to interest. His favor.
The development comes weeks after Justice Department Special Counsel Jack Smith dropped two federal lawsuits against the incoming president, and with adjudication in a separate New York money case on hold indefinitely as a result of Trump’s November victory over Democratic President Joe Biden. Biden.
However, the practical consequences for Mr. Trump may be minimal given the virtual impossibility of trying to advance a criminal case against a sitting president, regardless of who supervises the prosecution. But 14 other defendants still face charges.
Representatives for Ms. Willis and Mr. Trump’s lead lawyer in Georgia did not immediately respond on Dec. 19 to text messages seeking comment on the ruling.
Trump and 18 others were indicted by an Atlanta grand jury in August 2023, charging them with participating in a wide-ranging scheme to illegally attempt to overturn Trump’s narrow loss in the 2020 presidential election in Georgia. Four of them have since pleaded guilty after reaching plea deals with prosecutors. Mr. Trump and the others have pleaded not guilty.
Mr. Trump and some of the remaining defendants tried to have Ms. Willis and her office removed from the case and have the case dismissed. They argued that her romantic relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade created a conflict of interest and that she made inappropriate public statements about the case.
Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee ruled in March that there was no conflict of interest that would force Ms. Willis to leave the case. Mr. Trump and the others appealed that ruling.
The prosecution was “encumbered by the appearance of wrongdoing,” Mr. McAfee wrote. He said Ms. Willis could only stay on the case if Mr. Wade left; The special prosecutor submitted his resignation hours later.
Allegations that Ms Willis took improper advantage of her romantic relationship with Mr Wade led to a tumultuous two months in the case as intimate details of Ms Willis and Mr Wade’s personal lives were aired in court in mid-February. Mr. Trump and others also argued that public comments made by Ms. Willis in the wake of revelations of the affair inappropriately disparaged the defendants and their lawyers.
The allegations against Willis first surfaced in a motion filed in early January by Ashley Merchant, an attorney for former Trump campaign staffer and former White House aide Michael Roman. The motion alleged that Ms. Willis and Mr. Wade were involved in an inappropriate romantic relationship and that Ms. Willis paid Mr. Wade large sums for his work and then profited when he paid for lavish vacations.
Ms. Willis and Mr. Wade acknowledged the relationship but said they did not start dating until the spring of 2022. Mr. Wade was hired in November 2021, and their romance ended last summer. They also testified that they split travel costs approximately equally, with Ms. Willis often paying expenses or reimbursing Mr. Wade in cash.
Speaking at a historically black church in Atlanta shortly after the relationship was revealed, Ms. Willis defended Mr. Wade’s qualifications and her leadership of her office. Defense lawyers said the letter included a series of inappropriate and offensive comments against the defendants and their legal team, poisoning any potential jurors against them.
This story was reported by the Associated Press.