The Georgia Court of Appeals agreed to reconsider an order declining to disqualify Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from the case against former President Donald Trump and his co-defendants.
Despite finding “a significant appearance of impropriety” in her actions, Judge Scott McAfee ruled in March that Willis could remain on the case if special prosecutor Nathan Wade, who she was in a relationship with and allegedly financially benefited from appointing, stepped aside. Defendants sought review of McAfee’s ruling soon after it was issued, arguing that the issue was “of the utmost importance to this case.”
The GA Court of Appeals has GRANTED President Trump’s Application for Interlocutory Appeal from the trial court’s order refusing to disqualify Fulton County DA Fani Willis!!!
— Steve Sadow (@stevesadow) May 8, 2024
“President Trump looks forward to presenting interlocutory arguments to the Georgia Court of Appeals as to why the case should be dismissed and Fulton County DA Willis should be disqualified for her misconduct in this unjustified, unwarranted political persecution,” Trump’s lead defense counsel Steve Sadow said in a statement provided to the Daily Caller News Foundation.
McAfee’s ruling found there were “reasonable questions” about whether Willis and Wade testified truthfully about the timing of their relationship. Both claimed that it began in 2022, after Wade was appointed, though a long-time friend of Willis testified that it began in 2019.
Defendants argued that simply disqualifying Wade was “is insufficient to cure the appearance of impropriety the Court has determined exists.” They argued an appeal of the matter should not be put off until after any trial takes place.
“As noted, should such review not occur until after any trial in this case and these decisions were ultimately reversed on appeal, such reversal would likely require the retrial of every convicted defendant without any additional showing of error or prejudice,” the defendants argued.
