Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis watches a hearing in the State of Georgia v. Donald John Trump case at the Fulton County Courthouse on March 1, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia.
Alex Slits Pool | Getty Images News | Getty Images
a Georgia Court of Appeals Thursday disqualified Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from overseeing the election interference criminal prosecution of President-elect Donald Trump and other defendants.
But the appeals court put a hold on the prosecution of the defendants, who are accused of crimes related to Trump’s efforts to overturn his loss to President Joe Biden in Georgia’s 2020 election.
The ruling comes despite claims by Trump’s lawyers that Trump’s romantic relationship with Nathan Wade, the top prosecutor he chose to lead the case, should be disqualified. This overturns a Fulton County Superior Court judge’s decision to allow the case to proceed. case.
In its ruling, the Court of Appeals said the remedy offered by Judge Scott McAfee, which would have allowed Willis to continue with the case if Wade recused himself from handling the case, was inappropriate.
“After carefully considering the outcome of the trial court’s order, we conclude that it erred in not disqualifying Attorney Willis and his office,” the appeals court said.
“The remedies created by trial courts to prevent ongoing fraud give prosecutor Willis broad pretrial discretion in who to indict and what charges to bring. “Nothing could be done to address the manifestations of wrongdoing that existed during the period in which he exercised his powers,” the court said. .
Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally at the Forum River Center in Rome, Georgia, U.S. on March 9, 2024.
Alyssa Poynter | Reuters
“Although we generally recognize that indicators of misconduct alone are not sufficient to support disqualification, this is a rare case in which disqualification is mandatory and restores public confidence in the integrity of these procedures.” Other remedies are not sufficient.”
However, the appellate court also wrote, “We affirm, however, the denial of appellant’s motion to dismiss the indictment.”
The Georgia case is one of two criminal cases pending against Trump.
The president-elect was convicted in a New York state court earlier this year on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 presidential election. Trump has not yet been sentenced in the case.
The judge in the case on Monday rejected President Trump’s request to throw out the conviction and indictment, asserting presidential immunity. Prosecutors in the case are drawing on testimony from former White House officials and other evidence, which Trump’s lawyers say is based on a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that gave the president a presumption of impunity for so-called official acts. claimed to be in conflict with the .
But Judge Juan Mercian is still considering other arguments made by Trump’s lawyers to dismiss the case.
This is breaking news. Please refresh to check for updates.
