On Friday, Donald Trump sought the disqualification of the district attorney prosecuting him in Georgia for attempting to overturn his 2020 election loss in the state.
Trump, along with eight co-defendants, filed a legal appeal urging a Georgia appeals court to overturn a recent ruling by Judge Scott McAfee. This ruling allowed Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to continue prosecuting the case despite her romantic relationship with a former top deputy, Nathan Wade.
The appeal represents another attempt by the former U.S. president to delay or disrupt one of the four criminal cases he faces.
While Judge McAfee criticized the relationship between Willis and Wade, he rejected claims from the defense that it constituted a conflict of interest requiring Willis’s removal from the case. Wade subsequently stepped aside from his role in the prosecution.
Trump’s defense attorney, Steve Sadow, criticized McAfee’s decision, arguing that the indictment should have been dismissed outright or, at the very least, Willis and her office should have been disqualified from prosecuting the case.
Christopher Anulewicz, representing co-defendant Robert Cheeley, contended in a court brief that failure to disqualify Willis and her office would render the trials null.
Biden Condemns Russia
Meanwhile, U.S. President Joe Biden condemned Russia’s actions in using Americans as bargaining chips, promising repercussions for the Kremlin.
The appeals court now has 45 days to decide whether to hear the case. McAfee allowed Trump and other defendants to appeal his ruling immediately but stated that the case would proceed towards trial during the appeal process. If the court takes up the case, Trump may seek to halt proceedings while the appeal unfolds, although a trial date has yet to be determined.
Willis faced intense scrutiny during the proceedings, particularly regarding whether she received improper benefits from her relationship with Wade, including vacations paid for by Wade while he was contracted by her office.
Trump’s legal team also accused Willis of inciting racial animus and providing misleading information about the timeline of the romantic relationship. Willis denied any improper benefits and asserted that the romance did not influence the criminal case.
Willis characterized the disqualification attempt as a distraction from the racketeering and other charges against Trump and his 14 co-defendants, who are accused of conspiring to overturn Trump’s narrow defeat in Georgia’s 2020 election. Four other co-defendants have already pleaded guilty in deals with prosecutors.
