A state appeals court on Thursday removed Fulton County District Attorney Fannie Willis from the Georgia election interference case against Donald Trump and others, the latest legal victory for the president-elect in criminal cases that once threatened his career and freedom.
The case against Trump and more than a dozen others had been stalled for months over an appeal related to Willis’ romantic relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade, whom he appointed to lead the case.
Citing the “appearance of disqualification” that would not ordinarily warrant such removal, the Georgia appeals panel said in a 2-1 decision that “this is a rare case in which disqualification is mandatory and no other remedy would suffice to restore public confidence in the integrity of these proceedings.” Willis’ office immediately filed a notice of intent to ask the Georgia Supreme Court to review the decision.
But bringing a criminal case against a sitting president is a virtual impossibility. And Trump will return to the White House after defeating efforts to impeach him and a Supreme Court order granting him presumptive immunity for any “official acts” he takes in office.
The development comes weeks after Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith dropped two federal indictments against the incoming president, and the sentencing in a separate hush money case in New York that stemmed from Trump’s victory over Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in November. .
An Atlanta grand jury indicted Trump and 18 others in August 2023, using state anti-racketeering laws to accuse them of illegally trying to reverse Trump’s 2020 presidential election loss to Democrat Joe Biden in Georgia.
The alleged plan involved Trump asking Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to help find enough votes to defeat Biden. Four people have confessed to the crime. Trump told Fox News Digital that the case “should not be allowed to go any further.” The president-elect added: “Everyone should apologize, including those wonderful patriots who have been caught up in this over the years.
Steve Sado, Trump’s lead attorney in Georgia, said the decision was “well-reasoned and fair.” He said the appeals court found that “Willis’ misconduct creates a ‘smell of tragedy’ and an appearance of impropriety that can only be cured by the disqualification of him and his entire office.” “This decision ends the politically motivated harassment of a future President of the United States,” Sado wrote in an emailed statement.Willis’ representatives immediately sought comment on the order Did not reply to the message.
The case has been tumultuous for two months since intimate details of Willis and Wade’s personal lives were aired in court in mid-February amid accusations that Willis improperly benefited from her romance with Wade.
A defendant’s motion alleges that Willis and Wade engaged in an inappropriate romantic relationship and that Willis paid Wade large sums of money for his work and then benefited from paying for lavish vacations.
Willis and Wade acknowledged the relationship but said they did not start dating until the spring of 2022. Wade was hired in November 2021, and their romance ended in the summer of 2023, they said. They also testified that they split travel and other costs almost equally, with Willis often paying the expenses or reimbursing Wade in cash.
Speaking at a historically black church in Atlanta after the affair allegations surfaced, Willis defended Wade’s qualifications and his own leadership of the office. Defense lawyers said the speech contained a series of unfair and prejudicial comments against the defendants and their legal teams, poisoning any potential jurors against them.
The appeals court’s majority opinion, written by Judge Trenton Brown and joined by Judge Todd Markle, said, “The trial court’s measures to prevent the continued appearance of informality did nothing to address the appearance of impropriety that existed under DA Willis. His extensive pretrial investigation of who to indict and what to charge.” Using discretion.”
In a dissenting opinion, Justice Benjamin Land wrote that “the law does not support the result reached by the majority.” He said trial court judges have broad discretion to apply measures that fit the circumstances and appellate courts should respect that.
It is not our job to second-guess trial judges or to substitute our judgment for theirs,” he wrote. “Where, as here, a prosecutor has no real conflict of interest and based on the evidence presented by the trial court. denies the allegation of actual impropriety, we have no authority to overrule a trial court’s denial of a motion to disqualify,” he said, arguing the majority’s opinion goes against decades of precedent in Georgia.
The appeals court panel’s decision means it will be up to the Prosecuting Attorneys Council of Georgia to find another prosecutor to take over the case, though there could be a delay if the state Supreme Court takes up the case. Given the vast resources required to prosecute a broad and complex case, it may be difficult to find another prosecutor willing to take it on. That person could continue on the track Willis took, decide to pursue only certain charges or dismiss the case entirely.
Supreme Court Justice Scott McPhee, the trial court judge, ruled in March that no conflict of interest existed, forcing Willis to drop the case.
Trump and others appealed that decision. McPhee wrote that the prosecution was “overwhelmed by the appearance of impropriety.” He said Willis could only stay on the case if Wade dropped it. The special prosecutor resigned a few hours later.
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