The judge handling the Georgia 2020 election interference case on Wednesday gave permission for Donald Trump and other defendants to appeal a ruling that allowed Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to continue with the prosecution.
Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee’s decision means defense lawyers can request the Georgia Court of Appeals to review the judge’s ruling not to disqualify Willis or dismiss the indictment due to her romantic relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade. The appeals court will decide whether to hear the case.
The judge stated that he will continue preparing the case for trial by addressing other matters in the meantime.
Despite Willis’ determination to move on from weeks of negative publicity, the judge's approval of the appeal enables defense lawyers to keep the forefront allegations of misconduct that could harm the public’s view of the prosecution.
Last week, McAfee stated that Willis can stay on the largest of four criminal cases against the former president as long as Wade resigns, which he did on Friday.
Willis’ romantic relationship with Wade has caused turmoil in the case, overshadowing the accusations against Trump and 18 others for attempting to illegally change the outcome of the 2020 Georgia election in favor of Trump. One of the acts listed in the indictment was a Jan. 2, 2021, phone call in which Trump asked Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to help him “find” the 11,780 votes needed to defeat Biden.
Although the judge didn't think Willis’ relationship with Wade created a conflict of interest requiring her to leave the case, he mentioned that an “appearance of impropriety” had affected the prosecution team. The judge criticized Willis for her “tremendous” lapse in judgment and questioned the truthfulness of Wade’s and her testimony about when their relationship started.
In court documents submitted on Monday, attorneys for Trump and the other defendants argued that Wade’s resignation did not resolve the appearance of impropriety found by the judge. Defense lawyers warned that failure to remove Willis could jeopardize any convictions and lead to a retrial if an appeals court later determines it was necessary.
Trump’s lawyer Steve Sadow considered the judge’s decision to allow the appeal to be “highly significant.”
“The defense is hopeful that appellate review will result in the case being dismissed and the DA being disqualified,” said Sadow in an email.
Jeff DiSantis, a spokesperson for the district attorney’s office, mentioned in a text message that the case had not been put on hold and stated that prosecutors will “work to move it forward to trial as quickly as possible.” The district attorney’s office will only address the appeal in court submissions, he noted.
Trump has pleaded not guilty and has denied any wrongdoing. The presumed Republican candidate for the 2024 presidential election has described all the criminal cases against him as an attempt to hinder his campaign to regain the White House in November.
Defense lawyers claimed that Willis gave Wade a lot of money for his work, and then unfairly benefitted from the case when Wade used the money to pay for vacations for both of them.
Willis and Wade admitted to being in a romantic relationship, but they denied that Willis unfairly gained from it. They said that they did not start dating until after Willis became special prosecutor, and the relationship ended in the summer of 2023. They both stated that Willis either paid for things herself or used cash to reimburse Wade for travel costs.
Wade presented his resignation to Willis in a letter on Friday, stating that he was doing so "in the interest of democracy, in dedication to the American public and to move this case forward as quickly as possible."
"I will always remember — and will remind everyone — that you were brave enough to step forward and take on the investigation and prosecution of the allegations that the defendants in this case engaged in a conspiracy to overturn Georgia’s 2020 Presidential Election," Willis wrote in a letter accepting his resignation.
The case is different from the 2020 election interference case brought by special counsel Jack Smith in Washington’s federal court. That case is currently on hold while the U.S. Supreme Court considers Trump’s claims of presidential immunity, with oral arguments scheduled for next month.