Fani Willis disqualified in Trump Georgia case – this is what happens next

Topline

An appeals court in Georgia ruled that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis should be barred from leading the criminal case against President-elect Donald Trump and his allies because of her romantic relationship with former prosecutor Nathan Wade – significantly jeopardizing the case Length could drag or end altogether as a new prosecutor needs to be appointed.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis watches a hearing in her case against Donald Trump … (+) on March 1 in Atlanta, Georgia.

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Important facts

The Georgia appeals court ruled that Willis should be barred from prosecuting the case against Trump and his allies – but did not dismiss the lawsuit entirely – overturning a lower court judge’s ruling that Willis could remain in the case until then Wade resigned.

While Willis’ office announced Thursday that it would appeal the ruling to the Georgia Supreme Court, if that court upholds Willis’ disqualification, finding a replacement will fall to the executive director of the Georgia State Bar Council under Georgia state law.

The director, Pete Skandalakis, told CNN in February that he would probably only give the case to a prosecutor who actually wanted to take it on, noting that the complexity of the sprawling case meant “you have to put someone with the resources and the experience.” “We have to find someone who is capable of handling these types of cases.”

It’s unclear how long it might take Skandalakis to appoint a new prosecutor – but it could be a while, as the director was previously criticized for taking nearly two years afterward to appoint a prosecutor to investigate Georgia Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones was supposed to supervise Willis, who was barred from prosecuting the Trump ally due to a conflict of interest.

Skandalakis could also refuse to move forward with the case at all, Lawfare noted Thursday. Former U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance argued that the appeals court’s decision was “most likely a slow death knell, if not an outright death, to the case.”

When a new prosecutor takes over the case, he can proceed as he pleases, including dropping charges altogether or adding new ones, as the New York Times noted in February.

Who could replace Fani Willis?

Willis’ disqualification means the entire Fulton County District Attorney’s Office must be removed from the case, the appeals court ruled Thursday, so Willis’ subordinates cannot take the case from her. The Times noted in February that Democratic prosecutors in Georgia’s DeKalb or Cobb counties would likely be best equipped to take on the case, although it is not yet clear whether they would want to do so or whether Skandalakis would choose them. Even beyond the logistics of handling such a large case, finding someone to fill Willis’ shoes can be difficult, as prosecutors “are reluctant to take up the matter because of threats of political violence against Willis and Fulton.” officials know,” Georgia State University professor Anthony Michael Kreis wrote an editorial for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in February. Anyone selected “may also not have the same political will, resources or bandwidth to approach the case with the zeal necessary to ensure justice,” Kreis added. Skandalakis, a Republican, told the Times he could appoint someone if no one volunteers, or even take on the case himself.

News Peg

Appeals court judges on Thursday ruled in favor of disqualifying Willis, a Democrat who Trump and his allies have frequently criticized as biased against him. While a lower court was willing to keep the district attorney on the case as long as Wade — the investigation’s former lead prosecutor — resigned, the appeals court disagreed with that ruling. Merely firing Wade does not negate the “appearance of impropriety” that Willis may have acted inappropriately in the steps she had already taken as part of the investigation — particularly when she and Wade were romantically involved before Trump was impeached – the court ruled: such as their decision to press charges. “No remedy” other than their expulsion “will be sufficient to restore public confidence in the integrity of these proceedings,” the appeals court wrote. However, the court declined to grant the defendants’ motion to dismiss the charges in their entirety, saying there was no evidence that such an “extreme sanction” was necessary.

What happens to Trump’s Georgia charges?

The eight criminal cases against Trump in the Georgia case are still pending after Thursday’s ruling, and the criminal case against him is ongoing, although it is now in limbo due to Willis’ disqualification. Trump has argued that state charges against him over his presidential run should be dismissed, and his lawyers asked the appeals court in early December to order the lower court to dismiss his charges. However, no court ruling has yet been issued on the matter, as the appeals court on Thursday simply rejected the defendants’ claims to dismiss the charges based on Willis’ alleged misconduct. It is unclear when a decision on Trump’s request might come and whether it could come before a new prosecutor is appointed. Although the charges against Trump remain, his criminal case is not expected to be heard until he leaves office in 2029.

Important background

Willis filed charges against Trump and his allies in August after a years-long investigation, accusing them of a wide-ranging extortion conspiracy aimed at overturning the 2020 election results. (Trump and his remaining co-defendants have pleaded not guilty, although some of the first defendants have taken plea deals.) Prosecutors appointed Wade – a private attorney who was not yet part of the DA’s office – as a special prosecutor in the 2021 case. Defendant Michael Roman first accused Willis in January of having a conflict of interest due to her relationship with Wade and numerous other defendants in the case – including Trump and former lawyer Rudy Giuliani soon joins Roman’s request, Willis to disqualify. The defendants alleged that Willis and Wade’s “inappropriate, clandestine personal relationship” during the ongoing trial constituted a conflict of interest and argued that Willis appointed Wade because of their romantic relationship. The defendants also took issue with the couple’s vacations together and accused Wade of financing the couple’s trips with tax money paid to him by Willis. Willis and Wade have strongly denied any wrongdoing, insisting that their romantic relationship began in 2022, after Wade was appointed to the case, and that they split all costs roughly equally. They also claimed to have ended their relationship at the time of the charges. Wade and Willis both spoke out about the dispute during a hearing in February, where the district attorney accused the defense attorney of telling “lies” about them and said their allegations were “contrary to democracy.”

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