03/15/2024

Judge Says Willis Can Remain on Trump Georgia Case

However, Wade must resign from the case

The judge overseeing the Georgia election interference case against former president Donald Trump and his allies ruled that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis (D) may continue with the prosecution but only if Nathan Wade, the lead prosecutor she appointed and with whom she had a romantic relationship, exits the case.

In a 23-page ruling issued Friday, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee wrote that the defendants "failed to meet their burden" in proving that Willis’s relationship with Wade — along with allegations that she was financially enriched through trips the two took together — was enough of a "conflict of interest" to merit her removal from the case. But the judge also found a "significant appearance of impropriety that infects the current structure of the prosecution team" and said either Willis and her office must fully leave the case or Wade must withdraw.

"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," McAfee 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."

Please select this link to read the complete article from The Washington Post.