District Attorney Fani Willis had high hopes of bringing former President Trump to justice before the November election, but the latest ruling regarding her scandalous ties to the special counsel makes that prospect seem slimmer than ever.
Willis was accused in February of having an “inappropriate” relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade, whom she hired to help prosecute a massive organized crime case against the former president.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee’s decision not to remove Willis from the case is currently on appeal, with a hearing scheduled for early October. Until then, McAfee cannot take any campaign action against Trump. There’s also no time this summer to determine how the Supreme Court’s decisions on presidential immunity and “obstruction of justice” issues will affect Willis’ lawsuit.
Legal experts say the scandal could have devastating consequences for the case. Clark D. Cunningham, an expert on legal ethics and a law professor at Georgia State University, told The New York Times that Willis “got right to the heart of the case.”
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Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis speaks after winning the Democratic primary election, Tuesday, May 21, 2024, in Buckhead, Georgia. (AP Photo/Bryn Anderson)
Trump Indicted in August Willis was indicted along with 18 co-defendants in a years-long criminal investigation led by Georgia prosecutors into his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election in that state.
In February, Michael Roman, a Republican activist and co-defendant in the case, made shocking accusations that Willis had an “inappropriate” relationship with Wade, whom he hired in November 2021 to help prosecute the case.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis watches a hearing in the case of State of Georgia v. Donald John Trump, March 1, 2024, at the Fulton County Courthouse in Atlanta. (Alex Slits Pool/Getty Images)
Other co-defendants have made similar claims, alleging that she benefited financially from her relationship with him by taking lavish vacations with him.
both Wade and Willis deny it The two had been romantically involved before Wade was hired and split the cost of trips together, with Willis saying she paid Wade her share of the trip cost in cash.
Following an evidentiary hearing in February Judge McAfee He argued that Wade’s removal was necessary to prevent Willis from being disqualified in Trump’s Georgia election interference case, and he also got six states’ lawsuits dismissed.
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Former President Donald Trump held a rally in New York City on May 23, 2024, in the historically Democratic neighborhood of the South Bronx. (Spencer Pratt/Getty Images)
“There are 14 defendants remaining in the Georgia case, and it was a pipe dream to think a trial would take place before the election,” John Malcolm, a former federal prosecutor in Atlanta, told Fox News Digital.
“The Court of Appeals’ recent order, in my view, sends two signals. First, the Court believes that the issues raised – including not only the payments to Nathan Wade and his relationship with Wade, but also his thoughtless speech from a church pulpit essentially calling the Defendants racists – are significant and serious,” McAfee said.
He cited a speech given by Willis. Atlanta Church In January, she claimed she and Wade were being scrutinized because of their race, which McAfee refuted in a court order.
“And second, in light of that, the Court believes it would be fundamentally unfair to require the Defendants to incur the time and expense of pretrial litigation before Judge McAfee when it is entirely possible that Fani Willis and the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office would be disqualified from continuing their litigation,” Malcolm added.
“If that happens, the case will be handed over to another prosecutor who will decide whether to proceed with the investigation or drop it entirely,” he added.
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Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis watches a hearing in the case of State of Georgia v. Donald John Trump at the Fulton County Courthouse in Atlanta, Georgia, on March 1, 2024. (Photo by Alex Slits Pool/Getty Images)
Malcolm also said that the presidential immunity case pending before the Supreme Court “could have a dramatic impact on both the Georgia case and the federal case pending in Washington against former President Trump, making it more difficult for Fani Willis (or other prosecutors, if she is disqualified) to continue to pursue Trump.”
Anthony Michael Kreis, a professor at Georgia State Law School, said the trial “would almost certainly be postponed until 2029” if Trump, the Republican front-runner, is elected in November.
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Asked whether Willis would consider stepping down to get the case back on track, Kreis said, “She’s not one to run away from a fight.”
“I think the only way she would do that is if she really felt like this case was getting out of her control,” Kreis said, “But I think we all know in the Fani Willis case that she’s not one to run from a fight. She’s not going to take that hit, right? If she were to walk away from this case, it would be because the court would let her go.”
A representative for Willis did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
