The Georgia Court of Appeals has tentatively scheduled a trial date for Oct. 4 in a lawsuit filed by former President Donald Trump and co-defendants to remove embattled District Attorney Fani Willis from the case.
“President Trump’s interlocutory appeal was entered today in the Georgia Court of Appeals, with oral argument tentatively scheduled for October 4, 2024,” Trump’s lawyer Steve Sadow said in a statement.
“We look forward to presenting arguments before Judges Brown, Markel and Rand as to why this case should be dismissed and why Fulton County District Attorney Willis should be disbarred for court-founded ‘falsely alleged’ misconduct in violation of Georgia’s Rules of Professional Ethics.”
Judge P.J. Miller will resign and be replaced by Judge Brown.
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Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis arrives to speak after winning the Democratic primary, Tuesday, May 21, 2024, in Buckhead, Georgia. (AP Photo/Bryn Anderson)
The date is tentative and contingent on both parties agreeing to a motion. Oct. 4 is about a month before the presidential election, effectively nullifying Willis’s goal of trying a major organized crime case against the former president, who is seen as a potential 2024 Republican nominee, before the election.
Judge Scott McAfee’s March order He said special counsel Nathan Wade needs to be fired to prevent Willis from being disqualified in the Georgia case against Trump’s election interference.
Trump and several of his co-defendants alleged that Willis and Wade were romantically involved before Trump was hired and that she benefited financially from the relationship. Both Willis and Wade denied the allegations.
Fanny Willis and Donald Trump (Getty Images)
Judge McAfee allowed the defense to appeal, and the appeals court announced last week that it would hear the defense’s argument for Willis’s disbarment. The appeals court agreed to hear the argument last month.
In his March ruling, McAfee said the defendants “failed to meet their burden of proving that the district attorney had an actual conflict of interest in this case through his personal relationship with and frequent business travel with the lead prosecutor.”
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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)
“However, the record established highlights serious indications of misconduct that are poisoning the current prosecution team’s makeup and which must be eliminated by the state choosing one of two options,” he wrote, adding that Willis and her entire office could choose to recuse themselves or Wade could choose to withdraw from the case.
Wade subsequently resigned as special counsel.
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.
In his March order, Judge McAfee said Willis’s “reimbursement practices” were “unusual and the complete lack of documentary support legitimately concerns” but ultimately found the defendants had not presented “sufficient evidence” that the costs were not “approximately evenly divided.”
He also said, “The evidence shows that financial benefits arising from the relationship with Mr. Wade were not a motive for the District Attorney to indict and prosecute this case.”
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Former special prosecutor Nathan Wade arrives before Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis speaks after winning the Democratic primary election, Tuesday, May 21, 2024, in Buckhead, Georgia. (Associated Press)
Judge McAfee in February held a two-day evidentiary hearing in which the defense, led by attorney Ashley Merchant, sought to uncover financial trails that would show Willis had a conflict of interest in the lawsuit against Trump and should be disbarred.
“[T]”The Court finds that the record produced at the evidentiary hearing establishes that the District Attorney’s prosecution was hampered by alleged misconduct,” McAfee wrote in his order.
“As the case progresses, reasonable citizens may easily wonder whether financial transactions continued to occur, providing some benefit to the District Attorney, or whether a romantic relationship was resumed.”
“In other words, it would be reasonably believed by an outsider that the district attorney is not exercising independent professional judgment free from any compromising influence. This unnecessary perception will continue as long as Mr. Wade continues to preside over this case,” he said.
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Both Willis and Wade maintained that their relationship began after Wade was hired in 2022, but that is contradicted by testimony from Robin Yearty, a former “good friend” of Willis’ and former staffer in the district attorney’s office.
Yearty said there was “no doubt” Willis and Wade’s relationship began in 2019 when the pair met at a conference.
When the defense filed a joint motion for a certificate of immediate review in March, McAfee said the Fulton County District Attorney’s March 15 order on the defense’s motion to dismiss and disbarment “is so important to this case that it should be reviewed immediately,” and granted the defense the opportunity to appeal to the Georgia Court of Appeals, which granted it last month.
