Co-defendants in the Georgia election interference case against former President Donald Trump have filed a notice of appeal with the Georgia Court of Appeals seeking to disqualify Fulton County Prosecutor Fani Willis.
An appeals court last week said Trump and several co-defendants should disqualify Willis from the case because of his “inappropriate” relationship with special counsel Nathan Wade, whom he hired. announced that it would hear the lawsuit.
Mark Meadows, Rudy Giuliani, Cathy Latham and Michael Roman all filed appeals in the case on Monday, WSB-TV reported, and Georgia Republican Party Chairman David Shafer joined the party and began the proceedings in court.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee handed down the verdict in March. Wade’s firing was necessary to prevent Willis from being disqualified for his role in the broader extortion case against Trump.
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Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis testifies during a hearing in the State of Georgia v. Donald John Trump case at the Fulton County Courthouse on February 15, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Alyssa Pointer)
Mr. Trump and several co-defendants claimed that Mr. Willis and Mr. Wade had a romantic relationship before their employment, and that she derived financial benefit from their relationship. Both Mr. Willis and Mr. Wade denied these allegations.
Judge McAfee allowed the defense to appeal the ruling, and the Court of Appeals announced last week that it would hear the defense’s case to uphold Willis’ disqualification.
President Trump’s attorney, Steve Sadow, said: “President Trump has expressed his concerns as to why this case should be dismissed and why Fulton County Attorney Willis should be disbarred for his misconduct in this unwarranted and unwarranted political persecution. We look forward to filing interlocutory arguments with the Georgia Court of Appeals.” statement.
A trial date has not yet been set.
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Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis watches a hearing in the State of Georgia v. Donald John Trump case at the Fulton County Courthouse in Atlanta on March 1, 2024. (Alex Slitspool/Getty Images)
In McAfee’s March ruling, the defendants “failed to meet their burden of proving that the district attorney had acquired an actual conflict of interest in this case through his personal relationship with the lead prosecutor and his repeated travels.” said.
“However, the established record highlights the appearance of serious misconduct affecting the current structure of the prosecution team. It must be removed,” he wrote, adding that Willis and her entire office. You can choose to stand aside or Wade can withdraw from the case.
Mr. Wade has since resigned from his position as special counsel.
The co-defendants claimed that Willis benefited financially from hiring Wade because they were already in a relationship when they hired him in 2021 and planned to vacation together. .
both Wade and Willis denied They had been in a romantic relationship before he was hired, and the couple intended to split the cost of joint travel. Willis said he reimbursed Wade for part of the trip in cash.
In his March order, Mr. McAfee said that while Mr. Willis’ “redemption action” was “unusual and its lack of documentary support is understandably concerning,” he ultimately believed the costs were “approximately He said he determined that the defendants had not presented “sufficient evidence” that the cases were not evenly divided. . ”
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Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis speaks during a press conference at the Fulton County Government Center on Monday, August 14, 2023 in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
He also said that the “evidence demonstrated that the financial gain from his relationship with Wade was not a motivating factor on the part of the district attorney to prosecute and prosecute this case.”
In February, Judge McAfee held a two-day evidentiary hearing in which the defense, led by attorney Ashley Merchant, argued that there was a conflict of interest in the case with Mr. Trump and that Mr. Willis should be disqualified from receiving financial compensation. I set out to expose the traces.
”[T]”The court finds that the record produced during the evidentiary hearing demonstrates that the District Attorney’s prosecution was precluded by misconduct,” McAfee wrote in his order.
“As the case progresses, a reasonable member of the public will wonder whether the financial exchange continues to benefit the district attorney in any way, or whether the romantic relationship has even been resumed.”
“Put another way, an outsider could reasonably assume that the district attorney is not exercising independent professional judgment without any compromising influence. “As long as this incident remains, this unnecessary perception will continue,” he said.
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When the defense filed a joint motion for a certificate of immediate review in March, McAfee said the order issued on March 15 on the defendant’s motion to remove and disbar the Fulton County District Attorney’s office was “unnecessary to the case.” This is extremely important and requires immediate review.” ” and allowed the defendants to seek an opportunity to appeal to the Georgia Court of Appeals, which the court granted Wednesday.
