Fani Willis Booted From Trump Case in Georgia
Fred Lucas /
A Georgia appeals court on Thursday disqualified Fani Willis, the scandal-plagued prosecutor leading a racketeering case against Donald Trump and his 2020 campaign supporters.
The appeals court left the criminal charges in Georgia stemming from the 2020 presidential election in place but booted Willis, the Fulton County district attorney, and determined that a new prosecutor needs to be appointed for the case.
“We cannot conclude that the record also supports the imposition of the extreme sanction of dismissal of the indictment,” the court ruled.
Willis, who had appointed Nathan Wade as a special prosecutor in the Trump case, later admitted to having an affair with him. The appeals court ruled that this “significant appearance of impropriety” could taint the case in the eyes of the public.
The two took vacations together, prompting questions about whether Willis personally gained from hiring Wade. Wade said the Fulton County DA reimbursed him with cash for the vacations.
“While we recognize that an appearance of impropriety generally is not enough to support disqualification, this is the rare case in which disqualification is mandated and no other remedy will suffice to restore public confidence in the integrity of these proceedings,” the court ruled.
Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., quickly weighed in on X.
“This is a huge win over Democrat lawfare,” Donalds posted. “This is a huge win for justice in America. This is a huge win for President Trump. The political weaponization of our institutions MUST END.”
Amid the controversy, Willis was reelected easily to a second four-year term Nov. 5 after winning a Democrat primary in May.
Although the Georgia case stemming from the 2020 presidential election hasn’t been dropped, it was more good legal news for Trump in the wake of his November victory over Vice President Kamala Harris, a Democrat.
Special counsel Jack Smith already had dropped both federal cases against Trump, one about his retention of classified documents and the other about his challenge of the 2020 election results.
Earlier this week, however, New York state Judge Juan Merchan rejected a motion from Trump’s lawyers to drop the so-called hush money case in Manhattan.