By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2024-12-19 15:36:52 | Updated at 2024-12-19 18:45:43
3 hours ago
A Georgia appeals court has ruled that Fulton County DA Fani Willis must be disqualified from the Donald Trump election interference case, striking a potentially lethal blow to the prosecution.
The court reversed a lower court ruling that allowed her to remain on the case despite her sensational affair with prosecutor Nathan Wade, after Wade stepped down from his post in her office.
Ruling in a 2-1 opinion, it said she was 'wholly disqualified from this case,' and pointed to 'a significant appearance of impropriety.'
The ruling overturns Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee's decision that allowed Willis and her office to remain despite the affair, even as he pointed to the 'odor of mendacity' lingered around her case in light of the stunning revelations.
The ruling did not toss out the case itself, although the decision raises barrier that legal experts immediately called potentially lethal.
Another team of prosecutors would have to come in from another county to bring the case, at a time when the other criminal cases against Trump have collapsed after his election to the presidency.
The case featured stunning testimony by Fulton County DA Fani Willis, who brought the charges against Trump and codefendants. A Georgia appeals court ruled that Willis must be disqualified from the case
'It's not coming back. It's over,' said CNN legal commentator Elie Honig immediately after the news broke.
'The remedy crafted by the trial court to prevent an ongoing appearance of impropriety did nothing to address the appearance of impropriety that existed at time when DA Willis was exercising her broad pretrial discretion about who to prosecute and what charges to bring,' the court ruled.
The court called it 'the rare case in which disqualification is mandated and no other remedy will suffice to restore public confidence in the integrity of these proceedings.'
Willis' affair with special prosecutor Nathan Wade, a member of her team, helped blow up the case. The appeals court pointed to a 'significant appearance of impropriety'
The charges brought Trump's infamous mugshot
The decision is just the latest legal break going Trump's way. In November, Special Counsel Jack Smith, who brought a similar federal election interference case in Washington, D.C. , moved to have that case dropped. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan soon agreed.
Trump regularly mocked and attacked Willis throughout the case.
The prosecution is what brought Trump's infamous mugshot after he was first charged – something Trump soon used to advantage by marketing it on his campaign website.
