The Georgia Court of Appeals may hear a case in October regarding former President Trump’s effort to remove Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from an election interference lawsuit he filed against him.
According to a notice from the Georgia Court of Appeals obtained by The Hill, oral argument is tentatively scheduled for Oct. 4 “if requested and granted.”
The October deadline makes it even more likely that the election interference case will not go to trial before the November election, in which Trump is seen as the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.
“We look forward to arguing before Judges Brown, Markle and Rand why this case should be dismissed and Fulton County District Attorney Willis should be disbarred because the court has found him guilty of ‘falsely alleged’ misconduct in violation of Georgia’s professional ethics rules,” Trump lawyer Stephen Sadow said in a statement to The Hill.
Trump and eight other defendants appealed to overturn a lower court ruling that allowed Willis the option to continue the case if special prosecutor Nathan Wade stepped down, taking into account that the two were once romantically involved.
Judge Scott McAfee ruled in April that Willis’ relationship with Wade posed a potential conflict of interest in Willis’ organized crime case against Trump, but Willis could remain in the case if Wade resigns.
The motion to remove Willis from the case alleges that he received financial benefits from his employment due to Wade’s relationship with the district attorney.
Appeals are decided by a three-judge panel, after which the losing party can ask the Georgia Supreme Court to consider the appeal.
The Hill has reached out to Willis’ office for comment.
President Trump and 18 others were indicted in Georgia last August for allegedly taking part in a plot to illegally overturn the 2020 presidential election. Four of the defendants pleaded guilty in deals with prosecutors, but President Trump and the others have pleaded not guilty.
It was one of four criminal cases against Trump in which the former president was convicted in New York last week on all 34 counts of falsifying business records in connection with repaying hush money paid before the 2016 election.
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