Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee, overseeing the Georgia election interference case, intends to proceed with certain pretrial motions despite the Georgia Court of Appeals' pause of the case while reviewing his decision on a motion to disqualify District Attorney Fani Willis.
Last week, the appeals court paused the case against President Trump and others as it examines Judge McAfee's ruling. The court has provisionally set oral arguments for October 4 if requested, and on Monday, Trump formally asked for such a hearing.
Judge McAfee interprets the appeals court's order as limited, affecting only the parties named before the appellate court. This leaves six defendants—John Eastman, Ray Smith III, Shawn Still, Stephen Lee, Trevian Kutti, and Misty Hampton—unaffected by the order.
McAfee noted that Misty Hampton filed a motion for a discretionary stay, arguing that the appellate ruling could lead to Willis's disqualification. However, McAfee contended that even if Willis were disqualified, numerous statutory and constitutional challenges within the indictment still need resolution. He concluded that a full stay of proceedings would not be the most efficient approach and thus denied Hampton's motion.
The initial motion to disqualify Willis came from Michael Roman, a co-defendant of Trump, through his attorney Ashleigh Merchant. The motion alleged an inappropriate relationship between Willis and Nathan Wade, whom she appointed as a special prosecutor, and claimed Willis financially benefited from the case.
Trump filed a similar motion following a speech Willis delivered defending her hiring practices at a historic Black church in Atlanta on Martin Luther King Jr. weekend.
Several other defendants also sought to remove Willis from the case.
After months of legal drama and a court hearing, Judge McAfee ruled that Willis could remain on the case if Wade stepped down. Dissatisfied with this decision, Trump and several co-defendants appealed to the Georgia Court of Appeals to review Judge McAfee's ruling.
