Current:Home > Contact-usFulton County DA Fani Willis must step aside or remove special prosecutor in Trump case, judge says-LoTradeCoin
Fulton County DA Fani Willis must step aside or remove special prosecutor in Trump case, judge says
View Date:2024-12-23 22:28:59
ATLANTA (AP) — Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis must step aside from the Georgia election interference case against Donald Trump or remove the special prosecutor with whom she had a romantic relationship before the case can proceed, the judge overseeing it ruled Friday.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee said he did not conclude that Willis’ relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade amounted to a conflict of interest. However, he said, it created an “appearance of impropriety” that infected the prosecution team.
“As the case moves forward, reasonable members of the public could easily be left to wonder whether the financial exchanges have continued resulting in some form of benefit to the District Attorney, or even whether the romantic relationship has resumed,” the judge wrote.
“Put differently, an outsider could reasonably think that the District Attorney is not exercising her independent professional judgment totally free of any compromising influences. As long as Wade remains on the case, this unnecessary perception will persist.”
Willis and Wade testified at a hearing last month that they had engaged in a romantic relationship, but they rejected the idea that Willis improperly benefited from it, as lawyers for Trump and some of his co-defendants alleged.
McAfee wrote that there was insufficient evidence that Willis had a personal stake in the prosecution, but he said his finding “is by no means an indication that the Court condones this tremendous lapse in judgement or the unprofessional manner of the District Attorney’s testimony during the evidentiary hearing.”
The judge said he believes 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.”
An attorney for co-defendant Michael Roman asked McAfee to dismiss the indictment and prevent Willis and Wade and their offices from continuing to prosecute the case. The attorney, Ashleigh Merchant, alleged that Willis paid Wade large sums for his work and then improperly benefited from the prosecution of the case when Wade used his earnings to pay for vacations for the two of them.
Willis had insisted that the relationship created no financial or personal conflict of interest that justified removing her office from the case. She and Wade both testified that their relationship began in the spring of 2022 and ended in the summer of 2023. They both said that Willis either paid for things herself or used cash to reimburse Wade for travel expenses.
The sprawling indictment charges Trump and more than a dozen other defendants with violating Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, known as RICO. The case uses a statute normally associated with mobsters to accuse the former president, lawyers and other aides of a “criminal enterprise” to keep him in power after he lost the 2020 election to Democrat Joe Biden.
Trump, Republicans’ presumptive presidential nominee for 2024, has denied doing anything wrong and pleaded not guilty.
veryGood! (66818)
Related
- Jennifer Lopez Gets Loud in Her First Onstage Appearance Amid Ben Affleck Divorce
- What is the birthstone for October? Hint: There's actually two.
- Best Early Prime Day Pet Deals: Unleash 60% Off Dog Seat Belts, Cologne, Brushes & More as Low as $4.49
- Washington airman receives award after carrying injured 79-year-old hiker down trail
- The Stanley x LoveShackFancy Collaboration That Sold Out in Minutes Is Back for Part 2—Don’t Miss Out!
- Kyle Richards Swears These Shoes Are So Comfortable, It Feels Like She’s Barefoot
- Caitlin O'Connor and Joe Manganiello’s Relationship Started With a Winning Meet Cute
- Live Nation is found not liable for 3 campers’ deaths at Michigan music fest
- Gold is suddenly not so glittery after Trump’s White House victory
- Why NCIS Alum Pauley Perrette Doesn't Want to Return to Acting
Ranking
- Horoscopes Today, November 12, 2024
- Jonathan Majors’ ‘Magazine Dreams’ lands theatrical release for early 2025
- Man gets nearly 2-year prison sentence in connection with arson case at Grand Canyon National Park
- Michael Jordan’s 23XI and a 2nd team sue NASCAR over revenue sharing model
- Garth Brooks wants to move his sexual assault case to federal court. How that could help the singer.
- Bills' Von Miller suspended for four games for violating NFL conduct policy
- Millie Bobby Brown and Jake Bongiovi Share Behind-the-Scenes Look at Italian Wedding Ceremony
- Maryland governor aims to cut number of vacant properties in Baltimore by 5,000
Recommendation
-
Homes of Chiefs’ quarterback Mahomes and tight end Kelce were broken into last month
-
The Latest: Trio of crises loom over final the campaign’s final stretch
-
Driver fatigue likely led to Arizona crash that killed 2 bicyclists and injured 14, NTSB says
-
A Family of Beekeepers Could Lose Their Hives Because of a Massive Pipeline Expansion
-
Target will be closed on Thanksgiving: Here’s when stores open on Black Friday
-
The Latest: Trio of crises loom over final the campaign’s final stretch
-
What is gabapentin? Here's why it's so controversial.
-
Kylie Jenner Makes Paris Fashion Week Modeling Debut in Rare Return to Runway