For former lawyers President Trump He has filed a preliminary motion in his appeal against a court order hoping to disqualify District Attorney Fani Willis from the sweeping election campaign case against him in Georgia.
“The brief persuasively argues that the trial court should have dismissed the case and disqualified DA Willis because of her forensic misconduct and the appearance of impropriety between her and former special assistant DA Wade, who was her lover and taxpayer-funded financial beneficiary,” Trump’s lead counsel, Steve Sadow, said in a statement.
“We are hopeful that the court will rule in our favor on our appeal.”
Georgia Court of Appeals The Supreme Court agreed to hear arguments on October 4 on an appeal by Trump and his co-defendants to disqualify Willis from the case because of her “improper” relationship with former special prosecutor Nathan Wade.
Former Fannie Willis employee testifies she was fired after telling DA about spending
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis speaks to the media after winning the Democratic primary on May 21, 2024 in Buckhead, Georgia. (AP Photo/Brin Anderson)
The brief argues, “Should a prosecutor be disqualified for knowingly and repeatedly violating ethical and professional principles to prejudice defendants for personal or political gain? Yes.”
“Is disqualification necessary when an accuser commits perjury, conceals misconduct, and creates an ‘odor of falsehood’ resulting in a ‘significant appearance of impropriety’? Of course it is. If this accuser deflects attention from her own misconduct by claiming on national television that the defendants are dishonest racists for bringing the true allegations to light, can anyone trust the fairness of the accuser’s actions? Absolutely not,” it states.
The appeals court halted proceedings in the case against Trump, ending any chance for Willis to prosecute the former president before the November election.
Trump’s appeal to disqualify Fannie Willis from GA case to be heard in October
Willis filed a motion earlier this month to dismiss that appeal, saying the lower court The court found there was no sufficient evidence to support his claim that Willis had a conflict of interest, and said there was “no standing” to appeal Fulton Superior Court Judge Scott McPhee’s March ruling that allowed Willis to remain on the case.
Trump’s attorneys described the motion as a “last-ditch effort to prevent any appellate review of (his) misconduct.”
Trump indicted in August Willis is charged along with 18 co-defendants in a years-long criminal investigation by Georgia state prosecutors into their alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election in the state.
The charges include violating the Georgia RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) Act, soliciting violation of oath by a public official, conspiracy to impersonate a public official, conspiracy to commit forgery in the first degree, conspiracy to make false statements and writings, conspiracy to file false documents, conspiracy to commit forgery in the first degree, and filing false documents.
Since then, Willis has struggled to avoid obstacles in his efforts to challenge Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, ahead of the election.
McAfee dismissed six charges in March, saying the state had failed to provide adequate details on six counts of “incitement to violate oath by a public officer.”
District Attorney Fani Willis during a hearing in the case of the State of Georgia vs. Donald John Trump at the Fulton County Courthouse on March 1, 2024, in Atlanta. (Alex Schlitz-Pool/Getty Images)
In February, Michael Roman, a GOP activist and co-defendant in the case, made the shocking allegation that Willis had an “inappropriate” relationship with Wade, whom he hired in November 2021 to help prosecute the case.
Other co-defendants also made similar allegations, saying he benefited financially from his relationship with her by taking lavish holidays with her.
Both Wade and Willis denied They were in a romantic relationship prior to her appointment and said the couple would split the cost of their shared trips; Willis said she paid Wade in cash for part of his trips.
Following an evidentiary hearing in February, Judge McAfee ordered Wade’s removal was necessary to prevent Willis from being disqualified in connection with Trump’s election interference case.
“The established record now reveals a significant semblance of impropriety that plagues the current composition of the prosecution team — a semblance that must be remedied by the State’s choice of one of two options,” he wrote. He added that Willis and his entire office could choose to recuse themselves, or Wade could withdraw from the case.
Wade then resigned as special prosecutor.
In his March order, McAfee said that while Willis’ “reimbursement methodology” was “unusual and the absence of any documentary substantiation was concerning,” he ultimately decided that the defendants did not present “substantial evidence” that the expenses “were not roughly equally divided.”
He also said that “the evidence showed that the financial benefit from her relationship with Wade was not a motivating factor for the district attorney to indict and prosecute this case.”
“The Court finds that the record prepared at the evidentiary hearing establishes that the District Attorney’s prosecution appears to have been improper,” McAfee wrote in his order.
Georgia prosecutor Fani Willis appeals after judge dismisses several Trump charges
Nathan Wade arrives before Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis speaks after winning the Democratic primary on May 21, 2024, in Buckhead, Georgia. (AP)
“As the case progresses, questions may arise in the minds of discerning members of the public as to whether the financial transactions continued, resulting in some type of benefit to the district attorney, or even whether the romantic relationship was resumed.”
“In other words, an outsider might believe that the district attorney is not exercising her independent professional judgment, completely free of any compromising influence,” he said. “That unnecessary perception will persist as long as Wade remains on the case.”
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When the defense submitted a joint motion for a certificate of urgent review in March, McAfee said his March 15 order on the defendants’ motion to dismiss and disqualify the Fulton County district attorney was “so important to this case as to merit immediate review” and allowed the defendants to seek an opportunity to appeal to the Georgia Court of Appeals, which the court granted last month.
