The Georgia Court of Appeals is set to review former President Donald Trump’s appeal of a ruling that allows disgraced Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to continue leading the state's election case against him. If Trump’s appeal is successful, the case against him could end, as the Democrats' extensive legal campaign falls apart just six months before the election.
In March, Fulton County Judge Scott McAfee determined ruled that Willis, who was under scrutiny for an inappropriate relationship with Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade, could still oversee the effort to prosecute Trump for opposing election changes in 2020. The judge decided that Willis could remain involved as long as Wade stepped down from the investigation after the government paid over $650,000 to Wade’s law firm over two years. Willis and Wade allegedly used funds supposedly intended for Trump’s prosecution on extravagant vacations to various destinations.
The defendants in Willis’s highly politicized trials in Georgia had previously filed motions to remove her from the case, claiming an improper connection with Wade before he was hired by Willis’s office. Both Willis and Wade denied these allegations. Willis stated in February that she reimbursed Wade for her share of the expenses from their trips together. When pressed asked for proof of reimbursement in court, Willis stated, “The proof is what I just told you.”
McAfee, who donated to Willis’s 2020 campaign, it was found that the district attorney’s reimbursement claims “may be unusual and the absence of any documentary evidence understandably raises concerns,” but the conclusion was that the evidence “did not show that Willis had received a significant financial benefit as a result of her decision to hire and engage in a romantic relationship with Wade.”
The judge then allowed allow Trump and eight co-defendants to appeal, which the Georgia Court of Appeals agreed to on Wednesday. The decision to hear the former president’s request to remove the lead prosecutor is likely to cause a significant delay in the proceedings just months before Election Day. In August, Willis charged the Republican presidential candidate with 41 allegations relating to his 2020 election concerns. The Fulton County judge dropped six of the charges in March.
The Georgia Court of Appeals’ decision represents another victory for Trump this week against the aggressive legal campaign aimed at preventing the Democrats’ main political opponent from winning the White House this autumn. On Tuesday, U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon indefinitely postponed Special Counsel Jack Smith’s prosecution of Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified documents. The trial was previously scheduled for May 20 but may now be delayed until well after the November election due to prosecutors admitted to tampering with evidence.
Judge Cannon stated, “The Court also determines that finalizing a trial date at this point — before resolving the various and interconnected pre-trial and CIPA [Classified Information Procedures Act] issues that are pending and forthcoming — would be unwise and inconsistent with the Court’s responsibility to thoroughly and fairly consider the various pre-trial motions, critical CIPA issues, and additional preparations needed for the trial.”
