Georgia appeals court agrees to review ruling allowing Fani Willis to stay on Trump election case
ATLANTA– A Georgia appeals court on Wednesday agreed to review a lower court ruling that allowed Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to continue pursuing the election interference case she brought against former President Donald Trump.
Trump and some other defendants in the case had tried to remove Willis and her office from the case, saying her romantic relationship with special counsel Nathan Wade posed a conflict of interest. Supreme Court Justice Scott McAfee ruled in March that there was no conflict of interest that should force Willis off the case, but he granted a request by Trump and the other defendants to appeal his ruling to the Georgia Court of Appeals.
The interim appeal court decided on Wednesday to hear the case. Once it decides, the losing party can ask the Georgia Supreme Court to consider an appeal.
The appeals court’s decision to hear the case appears likely to delay the case and further reduce the possibility of the case going to trial before the general election in November, when Trump is expected to become the Republican nominee will be for the presidency.
In his order, McAfee said he intended to continue hearing other pretrial motions “whether or not the motion is granted … and even if any subsequent appeal is expedited by the court of appeals.” But Trump and the others could ask the Court of Appeals to stay the case while the appeal is pending.
McAfee wrote in his March order that the plaintiff was “hindered by an appearance of impropriety.” He said Willis could only stay on the case if Wade left, and the special prosecutor submitted his resignation hours later.
The allegations that Willis had wrongfully profited from her romance with Wade resulted in a tumultuous few months in the case, as intimate details of Willis and Wade’s personal life were aired in court in mid-February. The serious charges in one of four criminal cases against the Republican former president were largely overshadowed by the prosecutors’ love lives.
Trump and 18 others were indicted in August, accused of participating in a vast scheme to illegally try to overturn his narrow loss in the 2020 presidential election to Democrat Joe Biden in Georgia.
All defendants were charged with violating Georgia’s Racketeer and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), a sweeping anti-racketeering statute. Four people charged in the case have pleaded guilty after reaching deals with prosecutors. Trump and the others have pleaded not guilty.
Trump and other defendants had argued in their appeal that McAfee was wrong to not remove both Willis and Wade, writing that “providing the option to simply remove Wade confuses logic and violates Georgia law.”
The allegations against Willis first emerged in a motion filed in early January by Ashleigh Merchant, a lawyer for former Trump campaign aide and former White House aide Michael Roman. The motion alleged that Willis and Wade were involved in an inappropriate romantic relationship and that Willis paid Wade large amounts of money for his work and then profited when he paid for lavish vacations.
Willis and Wade acknowledged the relationship but said they didn’t start dating until the spring of 2022, after Wade was hired in November 2021 and their romance ended last summer. They also testified that they split the travel costs approximately equally, with Willis often paying the expenses or reimbursing Wade in cash.