On Friday, Georgia Judge Scott McAfee ruled that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis could remain on the Trump 2020 election interference case but with stipulations.
Judge McAfee also sharply criticized Willis, saying she created a ‘significant appearance of impropriety’ through her romantic affair with special prosecutor Nathan Wade.
Willis must fire Wade, the Special Prosecutor she hired to oversee the sweeping election fraud case against former President Donald Trump or see her office lose control of the case that involves Trump and 14 others for allegedly trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election in the state of Georgia.
McAfee’s ruling is a stark rebuke for Willis. Last month, the DA defiantly insisted she had done nothing wrong in a dramatic court testimony and in a sworn affidavit, USA Today reported.
If Willis refuses to remove Wade, McAfee said, he will refer the case to the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia for reassignment. This would almost certainly delay the trial past the Nov. 5 presidential election.
No trial date has been set.
The Georgia prosecution is one of two criminal cases against Trump that focus on his attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Firing Wade, the judge said, will allow “the District Attorney, the Defendants, and the public to move forward without his presence or remuneration distracting from and potentially compromising the merits of this case.”
Trump’s lead defense counsel, Steve Sadow said he was not satisfied with the judge’s ruling.
“While respecting the Court’s decision, we believe that the Court did not afford appropriate significance to the prosecutorial misconduct of Willis and Wade, including the financial benefits,” Sadow said in a statement to USA TODAY. “We will use all legal options available as we continue to fight to end this case, which should never have been brought in the first place.”
