A Georgia judge has ruled that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis must either dismiss special prosecutor Nathan Wade or withdraw from the case involving former President Donald Trump.
The decision was made by Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee after evidence was presented by attorneys representing co-defendants in the 2020 election interference case.
Willis brought in Nathan Wade to help with the prosecution, but four co-defendants alleged that she had an inappropriate relationship with Wade.
They claimed that Wade’s hiring by Willis was financially beneficial for him as they were already in a relationship and went on vacations together when he was hired in 2021.
Before Willis started working, Wade and Willis had denied being involved in a romantic relationship. They had agreed to split the costs of their joint travels, with Willis reimbursing Wade in cash for her share of the expenses.
MSNBC aired a breaking news segment about the court ruling, where Lisa Rubin explained the implications for Willis and her team:
Judge Scott McAfee of the Fulton County Superior Court issued a 23-page decision this morning
. He concluded that while there was no proven actual conflict of interest by the defendants, there was a significant appearance of impropriety that tainted the entire prosecution team.
McAfee presented Fani Willis with two options: either she and her office step down from prosecuting the case, or Nathan Wade, the special assistant district attorney leading the case, could be removed instead. This decision was seen as a victory for Fani Willis.
However, despite the seemingly straightforward choice given to Willis, there are still aspects that could be exploited by supporters of Trump.
The judge noted that there were discrepancies in the testimonies of Nathan Wade and Fani Willis.
While the defendants failed to prove an actual conflict of interest, there remained doubts about their honesty which contributed to an appearance of impropriety.
In particular, McAfee highlighted that concerns raised by the defendants were not adequately addressed and emphasized that efforts should be made to address any perceived dishonesty in court testimonies.
In his final decision, Mika essentially states that disqualification is not necessary in this situation, as there is a less extreme and adequate solution available.
This is when he presents Fani Willis with a choice: either step down along with your office, or as one of our colleagues put it informally today, ‘Boy, bye, Nathan Wade. We will proceed with prosecuting this case.’
I’d like to take a step back for a moment, Mika, and highlight another important point for you and our viewers.
Despite Fani Willis remaining on the case, the Trump team and co-defendants achieved success in another significant way.
As we know, the Trump legal strategy typically involves prolonging proceedings. Ashley Merchant, representing Mike Roman who served as the director of operations for Election Day for the Trump campaign, filed this motion on January 8th, 2024.
It has now taken over two months to complete all necessary procedures such as briefing, evidentiary hearings, closing arguments, and reaching a decision.
In the meantime, no progress has been made on any other aspects of this case.