Ga. judge: Willis can stay on Trump case
Special prosecutor Wade steps down from role
Josh Meyer
In a pivotal decision that could significantly impact the course of Donald Trump's legal and political future, a Georgia judge said Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and her office may continue the election fraud prosecution of the former president – but only if she fires the lawyer overseeing it.
Willis admitted to having a romantic relationship with Nathan Wade, a private attorney she hired to oversee the case against Trump and 14 others for allegedly trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election in the state.
Hours later, Wade resigned, saving the case.
In a much-awaited ruling, Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee criticized Willis harshly. She created the “significant appearance of impropriety that infects the current structure of the prosecution team,” he wrote.
McAfee's ruling is a stark rebuke for Willis, who defiantly insisted she had done no wrong in dramatic court testimony last month and a sworn affidavit.
If Wade did not step down, McAfee said, he would refer the case to the Prosecuting Attorneys' Council of Georgia for reassignment − an option that would have almost certainly delayed the trial well past the Nov. 5 presidential election that will likely see Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, facing off again against President Joe Biden. No trial date has been set. Steve Sadow, Trump's lead defense counsel, said he was not satisfied.
“While respecting the Court's decision, we believe that the Court did not afford appropriate significance to the prosecutorial misconduct of Willis and Wade, including the financial benefits,” Sadow said in a statement to USA TODAY. “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.”
Willis accepted Wade's resignation in a letter released Friday afternoon and thanked him, writing, “I will always remember − and will remind everyone − that you were brave enough to step forward and take on the investigation and prosecution of the allegations that the defendants in this case engaged in a conspiracy to overturn Georgia's 2020 Presidential Election.”
McAfee's ruling caps more than two months of intense legal wrangling that began with a Jan. 8 court filing by Michael Roman, a former Trump 2020 campaign official, who accused Willis of engaging in a “clandestine” and improper romantic relationship with Wade.
Wade, a private attorney, had virtually no experience prosecuting complex cases like the sweeping election racketeering one he now heads. Willis responded that she hired him more as a trusted manager of the overall investigation and trial than as a prosecutor.
Roman said the relationship violated state conflict-of-interest laws and so irrevocably tainted the case that Willis and the DA's office needed to be disqualified − and the case dismissed entirely. Roman also accused Willis of financially benefiting from the romantic vacations she took with Wade, alleging that he spent some of the more than $650,000 in Fulton County money he has been paid on their vacations in what amounted to an illegal form of self-dealing.
Trump and several other co-defendants soon joined Roman in the motion to disqualify, and in attempting to dig up more information about Willis' relationship with Wade.
That prompted McAfee, who was appointed to the Superior Court bench in February 2023 by Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, to schedule two days of evidentiary hearings last month − and then a third − to hear from all parties.
On the witness stand and in sworn affidavits, Willis and Wade denied the accusations of self-dealing.
The testimony and cross-examination were marked by combative exchanges as defense lawyers accused Willis and Wade of lying about key details of their relationship. At one point, Willis entered the courtroom and said she wanted to testify even as prosecutors in her office were fighting to quash a subpoena forcing her to do so.
During those hearings, McAfee hinted at the possibility of ruling the way he did by asking about whether he might need to find only that Willis had created the appearance of a conflict of interest, not an actual conflict, by having a romantic relationship with Wade.
Defense attorneys for Trump and other defendants seeking disqualification argued for using that standard, though they also said Willis improperly benefited financially from hiring Wade.
Prosecutors argued that the defense attorneys seeking Willis' disqualification had to prove an actual conflict of interest. Willis and Wade both testified that she repaid him in cash for her part of the travel. McAfee said Willis needed to be held to a higher standard.
Willis, a no-nonsense prosecutor known for her tenacity, now faces the daunting task of navigating the complex legal terrain surrounding Trump's alleged election interference. She is likely to face a flurry of motions aimed at questioning her and Wade's leadership of the case as it proceeds to trial, as well as other motions, including efforts by some defendants to separate their cases from the others.
A grand jury has indicted Trump, some top White House and campaign officials and Georgia state officials on charges that they illegally conspired by various means to overturn the election results in Georgia. Part of that effort was Trump's now-infamous call to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find” him enough votes – more than 11,000 – to flip the battleground state from Biden to him.