Judge allows prosecutor Fani Willis to stay on Trump case but discards deputy
Willis is prosecuting the Trump election tampering case in Georgia, but she has faced questions about her relationship with a coworker.
A Georgia judge has ordered that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis can continue working on former President Donald Trump’s election meddling investigation, but only if the deputy with whom she had a sexual relationship resigns.
In response to Friday’s ruling, Nathan Wade resigned as special prosecutor amid questions about his ties with Willis.
Questions about their connection had threatened to postpone—and maybe derail—one of Trump’s four distinct criminal cases in the United States.
“I am offering my resignation in the interest of democracy, dedication to the American public, and to move this case forward as quickly as possible,” Wade wrote in a letter announcing his retirement.
In a judgment issued hours earlier, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee determined that the friendship did not constitute a conflict of interest that would disqualify Willis from the case.
Nonetheless, he claimed it produced “an appearance of impropriety” and would harm the prosecution team. He also described it as a “tremendous” error in judgment.
He cited the fact that Willis’ office would have compensated Wade for his work as a special prosecutor, which is usual practice. While McAfee flatly denied that Wade’s appointment was a “financial scheme” aimed to “enrich” Willis, he did acknowledge that the public may see otherwise.
“As the case moves forward, reasonable members of the public could easily be left to wonder whether the financial exchanges have continued, resulting in some form of benefit to the District Attorney, or even whether the romantic relationship has resumed,” the judge stated in his ruling.
“To put it another way, an observer may fairly believe that the District Attorney is not exercising her independent professional judgment completely devoid of any compromising influences. As long as Wade is on the case, this false perception will endure.
McAfee also questioned the veracity of Willis and Wade’s testimony concerning the date of their relationship but said there was insufficient evidence to draw a verdict. Willis didn’t immediately reply to the ruling.
Trump’s defense team had tried to have Willis removed from the case because of her friendship with Wade, but Friday’s decision put an end to that effort. Nonetheless, the amorous imbroglio has dominated the case in recent weeks, postponing other proceedings. Willis is charging Trump and more than a dozen co-conspirators for allegedly attempting to overthrow President Joe Biden’s victory in Georgia, a key battleground state in the 2020 presidential race.
The prosecution uses legislation typically associated with organized crime to accuse the former president, his lawyers, aides, and local Republican officials of participating in a “criminal enterprise” to retain Trump in office.
Trump, the likely Republican presidential nominee in 2024, has denied wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty.
Their relationship did not sway the prosecution
Following Friday’s ruling, defense lawyer Steve Sadow stated that Trump’s legal team would follow the court’s decision. However, Sadow repeated his conviction that the court “did not give appropriate weight to the prosecutorial misconduct of Willis and Wade.”
“We will use all legal options available as we continue to fight to end this case, which should never have been brought in the first place,” Sadow said in a statement. Willis had recruited Wade to oversee the investigation into whether Trump and his allies engaged in a racketeering scheme to overturn Georgia’s election results.
Both Willis and Wade believe that they did not start dating until Wade was appointed special prosecutor. They further argue that the relationship had no influence on how the accused in the case were treated.
However, Willis’ old colleague said that there was evidence that the relationship began before Willis and Wade began working together. Trump’s lawyers eventually accused the two of lying to the court.
Willis and Wade stated that the relationship ended in mid-2023
Judge McAfee stated there was no evidence that Trump’s or the other defendants’ due process rights had been violated or that the friendship influenced the prosecutors in any manner. He stated that disqualifying a constitutional officer, such as a district attorney, is unnecessary when a less harsh remedy exists.
The decision comes only days after McAfee rejected three of the 13 allegations against Trump in the first indictment, claiming that prosecutors failed to offer sufficient details. One dismissed count arose from a phone call Trump placed to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in early January 2021.
During the taped call, Trump pressed Raffensperger to “find 11,780 votes”—one more than he lost the state with.
In addition to the Georgia case, Trump is facing a separate criminal trial in New York as well as two federal prosecutions: one for his handling of confidential data and the other for his role in attempting to overturn the 2020 election results.
Source: News Agencies
