Appeals court removes prosecutor Fani Willis from Georgia election case against Trump, others
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 stalled for months while the Georgia Court of Appeals considered a pre-trial appeal.
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 decide whether to continue pursuing it, although Willis may choose to appeal to the state Supreme Court. If a decision is taken then it may get delayed. ,
But whether it’s ultimately Willis or another prosecutor in charge, it seems unlikely that the prosecution of Trump will be able to continue for another four years while he’s president. But there are 14 other defendants who are still charged.
Two federal criminal cases against Trump have already been dropped 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 remains uncertain.
A grand jury in Atlanta indicted Trump and 18 others in August 2023, accusing them of participating in a widespread scheme to illegally overturn Trump’s narrow loss in the 2020 presidential election to Democrat Joe Biden in the state. Four of them have pleaded guilty after striking deals with prosecutors. Trump and others have pleaded innocent.
Trump and some of the remaining defendants tried to remove Willis and her office from the case and have the case dismissed. She argued that her romantic relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade created a conflict of interest and that she made inappropriate public statements about the case.
Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee ruled in March that there was no conflict of interest that would force Willis to step down from the case. Trump and others appealed that decision.