Judge clears way for Trump to appeal ruling keeping Willis on case
ATLANTA — The judge overseeing the Georgia 2020 election interference case cleared the way Wednesday for Donald Trump and other defendants to appeal a ruling allowing Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to remain on the prosecution.
Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee’s ruling means defense attorneys can ask the Georgia Court of Appeals to review the judge’s decision not to disqualify Ms. Willis or dismiss the indictment over her romantic relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade. It will be up to the appeals court to decide whether to hear the matter.
The judge said he would continue working to get the case ready for trial by addressing other matters in the meantime.
But while
Ms. Willis had made clear her determination to turn the page from weeks of embarrassing headlines, the judge’s decision to greenlight the appeal allows defense attorneys to keep at the forefront allegations of impropriety that threaten to damage the public’s perception of the prosecution.
Judge McAfee last week said Ms. Willis can remain on the most sprawling of four criminal cases against the former president as long as Mr. Wade resigns, which Mr. Wade did on Friday.
Ms. Willis’ romantic relationship with Mr. Wade has roiled the case for weeks, overshadowing the allegations charging Mr. Trump and 18 others with trying to illegally overturn his narrow loss to Democrat Joe Biden in 2020 in Georgia in a desperate bid to remain in power. Among the acts listed in the indictment was a Jan. 2, 2021, phone call in which Mr. Trump urged fellow Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to help him “find” the 11,780 votes needed to beat Mr. Biden.
While the judge did not find Ms. Willis’ relationship with Mr. Wade created a conflict of interest that should force her off the case, he said an “appearance of impropriety” infected the prosecution team. The judge rebuked Ms. Willis for her “tremendous” lapse in judgment and questioned the truthfulness of Mr. Wade’s and her testimony about the timing of their relationship.
Attorneys for Mr. Trump and the other defendants said in court papers on Monday that Mr. Wade’s resignation was not enough to correct the appearance of impropriety the judge found. Defense lawyers say a failure to remove Ms. Willis could imperil any convictions and force a retrial if an appeals court later finds it was warranted.
Trump attorney Steve Sadow called the judge’s decision to allow the appeal “highly significant.”
“The defense is optimistic that appellate review will lead to the case being dismissed and the DA being disqualified,” Mr. Sadow said in an email.
Jeff DiSantis, a spokesman for the district attorney’s office, noted in a text message that the case had not been put on hold, adding that prosecutors will “work to move it forward to trial as quickly as possible.” The district attorney’s office will only comment on the appeal in court filings, he said.
Mr. Trump has pleaded not guilty and has denied doing anything wrong.