Judge rejects Trump’s bid to disqualify Georgia prosecutor

Source: Politico | March 15, 2024 | Betsy Woodruff Swan and Kyle Cheney

Instead, Judge Scott McAfee ruled that either Willis and her entire office or Nathan Wade must step aside to prevent an “appearance of conflict” caused by their romantic relationship.

A judge in Atlanta ruled Friday that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis can continue prosecuting former President Donald Trump and his co-defendants for trying to overturn Georgia’s 2020 presidential election if one of her top prosecutors on the case, Nathan Wade, is removed from the team.

But Judge Scott McAfee wrote that either Willis and her entire office or Wade must step aside to prevent an “appearance of conflict” over potential financial improprieties caused by their romantic relationship.

Trump and his allies had failed to sufficiently substantiate claims that Willis’ romantic relationship with Wade had created an “actual” conflict of interest that required her entire team being removed from the case, McAfee concluded.

“The Court finds that the evidence did not establish the District Attorney’s receipt of a material financial benefit,” McAfee ruled, despite characterizing the relationship as a “tremendous lapse in judgment.”

The decision ends, for now, a dispute that derailed the case for more than two months and featured hours of combative testimony from Willis on the witness stand at an evidentiary hearing last month. McAfee has not yet set a trial date.

Despite the bottom-line victory for Willis, McAfee’s ruling was replete with warnings about possible further sanctions for her office. He suggested that Willis’ decision to assail defense attorneys publicly — accusing them of racial animus in a speech at a historically Black church — may warrant a gag order.

“Providing this type of public comment creates dangerous waters for the District Attorney to wade further into,” McAfee wrote.

McAfee also pointed to the prospect of discipline for Willis from other forums, “such as the General Assembly, the Georgia State Ethics Commission, the State Bar of Georgia, the Fulton County Board of Commissioners, or the voters of Fulton County.”

Trump and his fellow defendants could appeal the ruling.

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