The Georgia Court of Appeals disqualified Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis Thursday from prosecuting President-elect Donald Trump’s 2020 election interference case, citing her relationship with the lead prosecutor — the latest in a series of bad news for the controversial prosecutor.
“After carefully considering the trial court’s findings in its order, we conclude that it erred by failing to disqualify DA Willis and her office,” the appeals court ruled in a 2-1 decision.
The ruling overturns a March decision by Judge Scott McAfee that would have allowed Willis to remain on the case if special prosecutor Nathan Wade stepped aside.
“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,” the appeals court wrote.
The court hasn’t yet completely thrown out the charges against Trump, but ruled that Willis’ relationship with Wade compromised the case’s integrity.
“The remedy crafted by the trial court to prevent an ongoing appearance of impropriety did nothing to address the appearance of impropriety that existed at times when DA Willis was exercising her broad pretrial discretion about who to prosecute and what charges to bring,” the court stated.
Trump co-defendant Michael Roman first exposed Willis’ relationship with Wade in a January motion, alleging she benefited financially from awarding him a lucrative contract when he took her on vacations using money earned from his position.
“This decision puts an end to a politically motivated persecution of the next President of the United States,” Steve Sadow, Trump’s lead counsel, said.
Steven Cheung, Trump’s communications director, tied the ruling to Trump’s election success over Vice President Kamala Harris.
“In granting President Trump an overwhelming mandate, the American People have demanded an immediate end to the political weaponization of our justice system and a swift dismissal of all the Witch Hunts against him,” Cheung said.
Documents revealed Willis paid Wade a higher hourly rate than other special prosecutors, including Georgia’s top racketeering expert. She failed to disclose any gifts from Wade on her 2022 annual financial disclosure despite taking vacations with him while lovers.
The Georgia case represents Trump’s last remaining criminal prosecution. The ruling throws the future of the case into uncertainty as a new prosecutor would need to be appointed to proceed with the charges.