By KATE BRUMBACK (Associated Press)
ATLANTA (AP) — Former President Donald Trump and eight others accused of illegally attempting to influence the 2020 election in Georgia have submitted a formal request to appeal a judge’s decision that allowed Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to remain on the case.
Trump and other defendants had attempted to remove Willis and her office from the case, claiming her romantic relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade created a conflict of interest. Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee recently found that there was no conflict of interest that should require Willis to step down, but he acknowledged that the prosecution was “affected by an appearance of impropriety.”
McAfee ruled that Willis could continue the prosecution if Wade left the case, and the special prosecutor resigned shortly after. Trump's lawyers then asked McAfee for permission to appeal his decision to the Georgia Court of Appeals, and he granted their request.
Submitting a formal application to the appeals court is the next step in the process. The Court of Appeals has 45 days to decide whether to take up the matter. Meanwhile, McAfee has stated that he plans to proceed with the case — he held a motions hearing on Thursday.
The claims that Willis had improperly benefited from her relationship with Wade disrupted the case for weeks. Intimate details of Willis and Wade’s personal lives were discussed in court in mid-February, overshadowing the serious allegations in one of four criminal cases against the Republican former president. Trump and 18 others were indicted in August, accused of participating in a wide-ranging scheme to unlawfully overturn his narrow 2020 presidential election loss to Democrat Joe Biden in Georgia.
All the defendants were charged with violating Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) law. Four people charged in the case have admitted guilt after making deals with prosecutors. Trump and the others have pleaded not guilty.
The appeal application argues that McAfee was mistaken not to disqualify both Willis and Wade from the case, stating that “allowing DA Willis to simply remove Wade is illogical and goes against Georgia law.”
The application suggests that dismissing the case is “the truly appropriate remedy” because the damage to the defendants and their due process rights cannot be fully rectified even by disqualifying Willis and her office. However, her disqualification is “the minimum that must be done to eliminate the taint of her legally improper and clearly unethical behavior from the rest of the case,” it states.
A spokesperson for Willis declined to comment.
The allegations against Willis first came to light in a motion filed in early January by Ashleigh Merchant, a lawyer for former Trump campaign staffer and onetime 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 sums for his work and then benefitted when he paid for lavish vacations.
Willis and Wade admitted they were in a relationship, but they stated that 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 stated that they shared travel costs equally, with Willis often covering expenses or reimbursing Wade with cash.
McAfee found that Willis’ relationship with Wade and his role as lead prosecutor in the case created an appearance of improper behavior, and his failure to disqualify Willis and her entire office from the case “is clear legal mistake that needs to be reversed,” according to the defense attorneys.
Considering the complexity of the case and the number of defendants, the application argues that multiple trials will likely be needed. Failing to disqualify Willis now could lead to potential verdicts being overturned, and it would be unwise and inefficient to risk going through “this painful, divisive, and expensive process” multiple times.
Attorneys for Trump and the other defendants had claimed that during a speech in mid-January at a historically Black church in Atlanta, Willis had inappropriately brought up race and religion in the case, prejudicing any future jury pool against the defendants. The appeal application also accuses her of giving false testimony under oath during a hearing last month. It says these actions constitute forensic misconduct that should disqualify her.
In his decision, McAfee noted a lack of appellate guidance on the issue of disqualifying a prosecutor for forensic misconduct, and the defense lawyers argued that the appeals court should consider the appeal to establish such a precedent.
Lastly, the defense attorneys argued that it is essential for prosecutors to “remain and appear to be impartial and unbiased” in order to uphold public trust in the integrity of the judicial system.
