Fulton County prosecutors have requested the dismissal of an appeal aiming to remove Fani Willis from President Trump's Georgia election case.
In a late Wednesday filing, Assistant Fulton County District Attorney Donald Wakeford, a prosecutor on the election case, requested the Georgia Court of Appeals dismiss the appeal filed by Trump and eight co-defendants, citing “insufficient evidence” to overturn a lower court's decision that allowed Willis to stay on the case.
Trump and several co-defendants, charged with racketeering for allegedly trying to overturn Georgia's 2020 presidential election ‘results’, sought to remove Willis after it emerged she had a romantic relationship with Nathan Wade, the special prosecutor leading the investigation.
The motion references the March 15 ruling by Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee, which allowed District Attorney Fani Willis to continue prosecuting the case. It argues that McAfee made “explicit factual findings” demonstrating that Trump and his co-defendants had not substantiated their claims of a disqualifying conflict of interest against Willis.
Judge McAfee ruled that Willis could continue on the case if Wade resigned, merely criticizing Willis' conduct. Trump and 13 co-defendants appealed McAfee's ruling within a week.
On Wednesday, Willis' office maintained that any potential conflict of interest from her relationship with Wade had been addressed in McAfee's trial court. Defendants claimed Willis benefited financially from Wade by using his salary for vacations. Both Wade and Willis testified that they shared vacation costs equally.
Trump and his co-defendants contended in their appeal that appellate review was necessary, arguing their case fell under the First Amendment protections regarding their political speech about the 2020 Presidential election.
The Georgia Court of Appeals has indefinitely paused litigation in the election subversion case pending its review of McAfee's ruling. The appeals court had initially scheduled oral arguments for early October, but they were postponed due to a conflict, according to a court spokeswoman. A new date has not yet been set and is unlikely to be before the fall, assuming the panel decides to hear oral arguments at all. The three-judge panel has two full terms to issue a ruling, which would extend to the first week of March 2025. If this timeline holds, it would almost certainly delay any trial involving Trump in Georgia until after the November election.
Read Willis’ filing here.
