After being convicted of 34 felonies in a controversial criminal case in Manhattan last week, former President Donald Trump was in need of a legal win.
He got that win on Monday when the Georgia Court of Appeals scheduled oral arguments for October 4th in the matter of whether Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis should be removed from the case due to accusations of prosecutorial misconduct.
The October appeal date means Trump is unlikely to go to trial in Georgia before the 2024 election.
That means American voters will decide Trump’s fate, not the Georgia courts.
The appeals process centers on ethics complaints filed against Willis, including allegations that she funneled excessive salary to a hired prosecutor, Nathan Wade, while the two had a sexual relationship. Wade resigned from the case in March after the defense team discovered their relationship.
With the appeals issue still unresolved, and the potential that a pending Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity could impact the prosecution, most legal observers believe a trial cannot begin before the 2024 general election.
Trump was indicted in August 2023 by Willis’ office, with prosecutors alleging he and associates engaged in a “criminal conspiracy” to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia. He faces felony charges, including violating Georgia’s RICO Act and soliciting a public official to violate their oath.
Trump has denied all wrongdoing and decried his presidential prosecution as a politically motivated “witch hunt” by Democrats.
In addition to the Georgia case’s delays, two other criminal cases involving the mishandling of classified records and alleged efforts to subvert the transfer of power may also be impacted by the presidential immunity arguments before the Supreme Court. No trial dates in those federal cases have been set yet.
While a New York criminal case resulted in Trump’s historic conviction on 34 felony counts related to hush money payments, Americans will get to weigh in on the last three prosecutions when they go to the polls in November 2024 — before the courts render final verdicts.