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Georgia judge allows Trump, co-defendants to appeal

Fani Willis disqualification decision
Judge Scott McAfee issued a certificate of immediate review Wednesday
By Brianna Herlihy , Claudia Kelly-Bazan Fox News

Published March 20, 2024 11:09am EDT

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Fani Willis has no credibility left, and she needs to step aside: Georgia lawmaker controversial policy
Republican Georgia State Sen. Bill Cowsert joins Fox & Friends to discuss state lawmakers probe of Fulton County DA Fani Willis after special prosecutor
Nathan Wade stepped down from the case against former President Trump.

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A Georgia judge presiding over the 2020 election interference case against former
President Trump announced Wednesday that Trump and his co-defendants can appeal the
order that denied the disqualification of embattled DA Fani Wills.

Fulton County Superior Judge Scott McAfee on Wednesday issued a certificate of

immediate review, allowing Trump and eight co-defendants to seek an appeal of the
order .

The defense now has 10 days to submit an application to the Georgia Court of Appeals,
which will have 45 days to decide whether they will hear the case from March 15, when the
order was issued. Under Georgia law, the Georgia Court of Appeals is not required to hear
the case.

"Upon review of the Defendants’ joint motion for a Certificate of Immediate Review, the
Court finds that the Order on the Defendants’ Motions to Dismiss and Disqualify the Fulton
County District Attorney issued March 15, 2024, ‘is of such importance to the case that
immediate review should be had,'" McAfee said.

FANI WILLIS’ ‘SORDID SCANDAL’ COULD MAKE FINDING A JURY IN THE TRUMP CASE
‘MUCH HARDER’: EXPERTS

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis looks on during a hearing in the case of the State of Georgia v. Donald John
Trump at the Fulton County Courthouse on March 1, 2024, in Atlanta. (Alex Slitz-Pool/Getty Images)

Steve Sadow, lead counsel for the former president, said in a statement Wednesday that
the judge's decision is "highly significant."

"The defense is optimistic that appellate review will lead to the case being dismissed and
the DA being disqualified," Sadow said.

Judge McAfee also said that while the defense pushes to have Willis disqualified, he will
continue to address other pre-trial motions in the case.

GEORGIA LAWMAKER DEMANDS FANI WILLIS STEP ASIDE IN TRUMP ELECTION CASE:
'HER CREDIBILITY IS SHOT'

Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump gestures to supporters during an election night
watch party at the State Fairgrounds on February 24, 2024 in Columbia, South Carolina. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Willis was accused of having an "improper" affair with Nathan Wade, a special counsel
whom she hired to help prosecute the case. Trump and several co-defendants said Willis
was romantically linked with Wade prior to his hiring and alleged that she was financially
benefiting from the position he held in her office.

Both Willis and Wade denied those allegations.

After hearing all the evidence presented in court, McAfee on Friday gave Willis an
ultimatum – remove herself from the case or fire Wade. Hours after the judge's order,
Wade resigned from the case.

McAfee said that the defendants "failed to meet their burden of proving that the District
Attorney acquired an actual conflict of interest in this case through her personal
relationship and recurring travels with her lead prosecutor."

GEORGIA LAWMAKERS REACT TO JUDGE'S RULING ALLOWING FANI WILLIS TO STAY

ON TRUMP CASE: 'WHOLLY INSUFFICIENT'

Special prosecutor Nathan Wade sits in court during a hearing in the case of the State of Georgia v. Donald John Trump at
the Fulton County Courthouse on March 1, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Alex Slitz-Pool/Getty Images)

"However, the established record now highlights a significant appearance of impropriety

that infects the current structure of the prosecution team – an appearance that must be
removed through the State’s selection of one of two options," he wrote, adding that Willis
and her whole office can choose to step aside, or Wade can withdraw from the case.

McAfee said that "[w]ithout sufficient evidence that the District Attorney acquired a
personal stake in the prosecution, or that her financial arrangements had any impact on
the case, the Defendants’ claims of an actual conflict must be denied."

But he went on to say that his finding is "by no means an indication that the Court
condones this tremendous lapse in judgment or the unprofessional manner of the District
Attorney’s testimony during the evidentiary hearing."

"Rather, it is the undersigned’s opinion that Georgia law does not permit the finding of an
actual conflict for simply making bad choices – even repeatedly – and it is the trial court’s
duty to confine itself to the relevant issues and applicable law properly brought before it,"
he said.

Brianna Herlihy is a politics writer for Fox News Digital.

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