Appeals court removes prosecutor Fani Willis from Georgia election case against Trump, others
FULTON COUNTY, Ga. - A state appeals court on Thursday removed Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from the Georgia election interference case against Donald Trump and others but did not dismiss the indictment, leaving the future of the prosecution uncertain.
The case against Trump and more than a dozen others had already been largely stalled for months while the Georgia Court of Appeals considered the pretrial appeal.
The three-judge panel voted 2-1 to disqualify Willis from the case. Judge Benjamin A. Land dissented.
"While we recognize that an appearance of impropriety generally is not enough to support disqualification, this is the rare case in which disqualification is mandated, and no other remedy will suffice to restore public confidence in the integrity of these proceedings." Judge E. Trenton Brown wrote in his ruling.
The new ruling means it will be up to the Prosecuting Attorneys' Council of Georgia to find another prosecutor to take over the case and to decide whether to continue to pursue it, though that could be delayed if Willis decides to appeal to the state Supreme Court.
Whether it is ultimately Willis or another prosecutor in charge, it seems unlikely that a prosecution against Trump could continue while he's president for the next four years. But there are 14 other defendants who still face charges.
Trump's attorney reacts to Willis' removal
In a statement to FOX 5, Trump's attorney Steve Sadow said that the court's decision "puts an end to a politically-motivated persecution of the next President of the United States."
"The Georgia Court of Appeals in a well-reasoned and just decision has held that DA Fani Willis’ misconduct in the case against President Trump requires the disqualification of Willis and her office," Sadow wrote. "The Court highlighted that Willis’ misconduct created an "odor of mendacity" and an appearance of impropriety that could only be cured by the disqualification of her and her entire office. As the Court rightfully noted, only the remedy of disqualification will suffice to restore public confidence."
Two federal criminal cases against Trump have already been abandoned after the Republican won the presidency in November. Meanwhile, a judge in New York has refused to throw out his hush money conviction from earlier this year, though the future of that case is uncertain.
CNN's Nick Valencia also obtained a statement from Ashleigh Merchant, whose client, Michael Roman, filed the original motion seeking the disqualification of Willis.
Joshua Schiffer, who is a legal expert and longtime lawyer in metro Atlanta, told FOX 5 Atlanta that the criminal defense community was not surprised by the ruling.
"The criminal defense community is not surprised by this ruling, maybe the timing of it and the lack of oral arguments, but the ruling itself definitely sits on firm footing. And we all know that this ruling will be appealed to the Georgia Supreme Court immediately," Schiffer said.
"By exploring all of the appearance of impropriety versus actual conflict rules, the Georgia Court of Appeals has set the guidelines up for what the Georgia Supreme Court will consider when this appeal arrives on their doorstep," Schiffer explained to FOX 5 Atlanta.
"It's basically a softball to the Georgia Supreme Court so the Georgia Supreme Court can really nail down these conflict rules and set a policy for the entire state," concluded Schiffer.
Trump vs. Willis in the Georgia election case
A grand jury in Atlanta indicted Trump and 18 others in August 2023, accusing them of participating in a wide-ranging scheme to illegally try to overturn Trump's narrow 2020 presidential election loss to Democrat Joe Biden in the state. Four of them have since pleaded guilty after reaching deals with prosecutors. Trump and the others have pleaded not guilty.
Trump and some of the remaining defendants tried to get Willis and her office removed from the case and to have the case dismissed. They argued that her romantic relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade created a conflict of interest and that she made improper public statements about the case.
RELATED: Timeline: Fulton County DA Fani Willis, Nathan Wade controversy
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis at the Fulton County Courthouse in Atlanta on Friday, March 1, 2024. (Alex Slitz/AP/Bloomberg via Getty Images) (Getty Images)
Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee ruled in March that no conflict of interest existed that should force Willis off the case. Trump and the others appealed that ruling.
McAfee wrote that the prosecution was "encumbered by an appearance of impropriety." He said Willis could remain on the case only if Wade left; the special prosecutor submitted his resignation hours later.
The allegations that Willis had improperly benefited from her romance with Wade resulted in a tumultuous couple of months in the case as intimate details of Willis and Wade's personal lives were aired in court in mid-February. Trump and others also argued that public comments Willis made in the wake of the revelation of the relationship improperly disparaged the defendants and their lawyers.
The allegations against Willis first surfaced 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 benefited when he paid for lavish vacations.
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Willis and Wade acknowledged the relationship but said they didn't begin dating until the spring of 2022. Wade was hired in November 2021, and their romance ended last summer. They also testified that they split travel costs roughly evenly, with Willis often paying expenses or reimbursing Wade in cash.
Speaking at a historically Black church in Atlanta soon after the relationship was revealed, Willis defended Wade's qualifications and her own leadership of her office. Defense lawyers said that speech included a series of improper and prejudicial comments against the defendants and their legal team, poisoning any potential jurors against them.
State files response
Within hours, the state filed a notice of intent to petition the Supreme Court of Georgia for a writ of certiorari in response to the ruling.
A writ of certiorari is a formal request by a higher court to review a case's basic facts, legal arguments, and the specific legal and constitutional questions the petitioner asked the court to rule on.
The Source: Information for this story came from a ruling by the Georgia Court of Appeals, a statement from Attorney Steve Sadow, previous FOX 5 reporting, and the Associated Press.