Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is disqualified from prosecuting the case against President-Elect Donald Trump, an appeals court held Thursday.
“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 Georgia Court of Appeals ruled 2-1. “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.”
BREAKING: Georgia Court of Appeals rules Fani Willis is disqualified from prosecuting the case against Trump. pic.twitter.com/Q9sRDvvSdv
— Katelynn Richardson (@katesrichardson) December 19, 2024
After a multi-day evidentiary hearing, Judge Scott McAfee concluded in March that Willis’ relationship with Nathan Wade, who she appointed special prosecutor on the case against Trump, created a “significant appearance of impropriety.” He allowed Willis to remain on the case if 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 Thursday.
While the appeals court disqualified Willis, it declined to dismiss the indictment in its entirety.
Trump co-defendant Michael Roman initially filed a motion in January exposing Willis’ relationship with Wade. The motion alleged she financially benefited from awarding him a lucrative contract when he took her on vacations using money earned from his position
“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,” Trump communications director Steven Cheung said in a statement. “We look forward to uniting our country as President Trump Makes America Great Again.”
Willis awarded Wade a contract with a higher hourly rate than the other special prosecutors on the case, including Georgia’s top racketeering expert, documents obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation revealed in January. She failed to disclose any gifts from Wade on her annual financial disclosure in 2022, the DCNF first reported.
“This decision puts an end to a politically motivated persecution of the next President of the United States,” Steve Sadow, Trump’s lead counsel in the case, said in a statement.
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