A state appeals court decided Thursday to remove Fulton County District Attorney Fannie Willis from the case against President-elect Donald Trump and others accused of meddling in the Georgia election, but did not dismiss the case, leaving it uncertain whether her future.
Citing "perceptions of inappropriate behavior" by prosecutor Willis as the reason, the three-judge appeals court, in a 2-1 decision, said that "this is a rare case in which disqualification is necessary and no other means would be sufficient to restore public confidence in the integrity of these proceedings.”
The case against Mr. Trump and more than 10 other people had been stalled for months.
The court's decision means it will be up to the Georgia Council of Prosecutors to find another prosecutor to take over the case and decide whether to continue to pursue it, although the process could drag on if Ms. Willis decides appeal to the state Supreme Court and if that court agrees to hear the case.
The judge in the case in March had allowed Ms. Willis to continue to be the prosecutor in the case.
It is the latest legal victory for Mr. Trump as he prepares to return to power for a second term, a further indication that the criminal cases that only a year ago threatened to cripple Mr. Trump's political career now weigh in his favor.
He welcomed the state court's decision, telling Fox News Digital that the case "should not be allowed to proceed any further." The president-elect added: "Everyone should be apologized to, including those wonderful patriots who have suffered the consequences for years."
The development comes weeks after Special Counsel Jack Smith closed two federal criminal cases against the future president and after sentencing in another case, for hush money in New York, was suspended indefinitely as a result of Mr. Trump's victory in November.
However, the ramifications of the Georgia case for Mr. Trump may be minimal, given that it is virtually impossible to pursue a criminal case against a sitting president, regardless of who the prosecutor is. But the other 14 defendants still face charges.
Representatives for Ms. Willis and Mr. Trump's top lawyer in Georgia did not immediately respond Thursday to requests for comment on the decision.
The appeals court's majority opinion, written by Judge Trenton Brown, joined by Judge Todd Markle, said that "the response designed by the court to prevent the perception of impropriety did nothing to avoid the consequences of inappropriateness that existed at the time Prosecutor Willis used broad powers to determine whom to prosecute and what charges to bring.”
In his dissenting opinion, fellow appellate judge Benjamin Land wrote that "the law does not support the conclusion reached by the majority." Judges, he said, have broad powers to use a legal remedy for a given situation, and the appellate court should respect that.
“We are here to make sure the law is applied correctly and to correct legal errors when we encounter them. It is not our job to question judges or use our judgment to refute theirs," he writes.
"Where, as in this case, a prosecutor has no conflict of interest and the court, based on the evidence presented, rejects allegations of impropriety, we have no authority to overturn its decision," he said.
A grand jury in Atlanta indicted Mr. Trump and 18 other people in August 2023, accusing them of participating in a broad scheme to illegally try to overturn the outcome of the 2020 election in Georgia, where Mr. Trump lost to Mr. Biden.
Four of them have pleaded guilty after reaching an agreement with the prosecutors. Mr. Trump and others have pleaded not guilty. President-elect Trump and some of the remaining defendants attempted to remove Ms. Willis from jurisdiction and dismiss the case.
They argued that her romantic relationship with Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade created a conflict of interest and that she made inappropriate public statements about the case.
The judge in the case, Scott McAfee, concluded in March that no conflict of interest existed that would force Ms. Willis to recuse herself from the case. Mr. Trump and others appealed his decision.
Judge McAfee wrote that Ms. Willis could only stay on the case if special prosecutor Wade quit; The special prosecutor resigned a few hours later.
Allegations that Ms Willis had profited inappropriately from her relationship with Ms Wade affected the case, as intimate details of their personal lives were discussed in court in mid-February. Mr. Trump and others also argued that public comments Ms. Willis made after the affair was revealed unlawfully humiliated the defendants and their lawyers.
The allegations against Ms. Willis were first brought to light in a motion filed in early January by Ashleigh Merchant, a lawyer for Mr. Trump's former campaign staffer and former White House aide, Michael Roman.
The motion alleged that Ms. Willis and Mr. Wade were involved in an inappropriate romantic relationship and that Ms. Willis paid Mr. Wade large sums for his work and then benefited when he paid for luxury vacations that the two went on.
Ms. Merchant, in a statement on Thursday, expressed regret that Ms. Willis did not voluntarily recuse herself, putting "Judge McAfee in a difficult position."
Ms Willis and Mr Wade admitted the relationship but said their relationship did not begin until spring 2022. Mr Wade was hired in November 2021 and their romance ended last summer.
They also testified that they had split the travel costs almost equally. Speaking soon after the affair was revealed, Ms Willis defended Mr Wade's qualifications and her work.
Lawyers for the defendants said some of her comments were inappropriate and prejudicial against the defendants themselves and their legal team, which would negatively affect any potential jurors in the case./Voice of America (A2 Televizion)
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