A Georgia judged is allowing former President Donald Trump to appeal the ruling in which Fulton County District Attorney Fani Williswas not disqualified from prosecuting Trump.
Judge Scott McAfee issued the ruling Wednesday morning which allows Trump and eight of his co-defendants to ask the Georgia Court of Appeals to take up the disqualification issue before the case goes to trial, according to The Hill.
Trump took Willis to task over her romantic relationship with a prosecutor overseeing the election interference case.
“This is highly significant,” Steve Sadow, Trump’s lead Georgia attorney, said in a statement. “It means the defense is permitted to apply to the Georgia Court of Appeals for pretrial review of the Judge’s order refusing to dismiss the case or disqualify Fulton County DA Willis.
“The defense is optimistic that appellate review will lead to the case being dismissed and the DA being disqualified.”
This new ruling does not mean the case will proceed slower.
“The Court intends to continue addressing the many other unrelated pending pretrial motions, regardless of whether the petition is granted within 45 days of filing, and even if any subsequent appeal is expedited by the appellate court,” McAfee wrote in his ruling.
Trump and his co-defendants are accused of racketeering and other criminal charges by attempting to overturn the 2020 election when Trump lost to Biden.
Trump has pleaded not guilty.
Now, the defendants are seeking to exclude Willis from the case due to her romantic relationship with Nathan Wade, a special prosecutor who led the Georgia criminal investigation into Trump, per the outlet.
Just last week, the judge ruled that Willis could remain on the case if Wade left. Wade resigned.
Trump and his co-defendants want to appeal the case in the hopes the ruling is reversed or the case is thrown out, The Hill reported.
“They contend the romance created an actual conflict of interest, a notion that the district attorney’s office has rejected,” the outlet said.
The defense’s lawyers view the right to appeal very important.
“The March 15 Order is of exceptionally great importance to this case, substantially impacting Defendants’ rights to due process,” lawyers in seeking permission to appeal.
“Additionally, given the lack of guidance from the appellate courts on key issues, and the fact that any errors in the March 15 Order could be structural errors that would necessitate retrial(s), the grant of a certificate of immediate review is both prudent and warranted.”
