President Trump's legal team has submitted a reply brief to the Georgia Court of Appeals in their effort to disqualify Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from the Georgia racketeering case.
Trump’s lead counsel, Steve Sadow, emphasized that the brief rebuts the state's arguments and asserts that Willis should be disqualified.
“The brief makes clear DA Willis should be disqualified, and the case dismissed because her proven false, incendiary racial rhetoric in the church speech was calculated to heighten public condemnation of, and thereby prejudice, the defendants in the eyes of potential jurors,” Sadow stated. “Such misconduct violated the Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct, therefore President Trump again calls for dismissal and her removal.”
Trump and his co-defendants will present their appeal to the court on Dec. 5, arguing that Willis should be disqualified due to an improper relationship with former special prosecutor Nathan Wade.
Willis, however, filed a motion in June seeking to dismiss the appeal, contending that a lower court ruled there was insufficient evidence to support claims of a conflict of interest. She also maintained there was “no basis” to appeal Fulton Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee’s March decision, which allowed her to remain on the case.
Trump’s attorney called the motion a “last ditch effort to stop any appellate review” of Willis’s alleged misconduct.
Trump was indicted in August 2023 alongside 18 co-defendants after a yearslong investigation by Willis and Georgia state prosecutors into alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in the state. The charges include violations of the Georgia RICO Act, conspiracy to commit forgery, filing false documents, and other offenses.
Willis has faced significant challenges in her attempt to prosecute Trump before the 2024 election. In March, Judge McAfee dismissed six charges related to solicitation of violation of oath by a public officer, citing insufficient detail in the state’s allegations.
After an evidentiary hearing in February, Judge McAfee ordered Nathan Wade's removal from the case due to his improper affair with Willis, the only option given to prevent the DA’s disqualification. Wade resigned from his role as special prosecutor shortly thereafter.
