While Democrats are basking in their victory with Donald Trump's conviction in New York, the polls and his fundraising numbers show it won’t be enough to stop the Trump Train. Of course, their election interference wasn’t limited to the New York case. There are also cases in Florida and Georgia, but those aren’t going so well. In fact, the case in Georgia has suffered a major setback.
In March, Fulton County, Ga., Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee ruled that Willis could continue prosecuting Donald Trump and 18 other co-defendants on corruption charges, as long as she fired Nathan Wade, the prosecutor she had hired while the two were romantically involved. Willis not only paid him more money than someone of his experience should earn, but the two took vacations together and potentially misused state funds.
In Willis’s own words, she deserved to be removed from the case and her job. In 2020, while running for district attorney, she declared that the people of Fulton County “deserve a DA that won't have sex with his employees [and] won't put money in their own pocket.”
The disgraceful ruling was a major win for Fani Willis. Evidence presented at her conflict of interest hearing revealed that she lied about the start of her relationship with Nathan Wade. Despite this, she wasn't disqualified or disbarred as she should have been, and her lover quickly resigned, allowing Willis to stay on the case.
Related: Fani Willis Is on the Ropes
Despite McAfee’s ruling, he granted the certificate of immediate review Trump and eight of his co-defendants requested in the racketeering case. They subsequently petitioned the Georgia Court of Appeals to consider the disqualification battle before the commencement of the trial.
On Monday, the Georgia appeals court scheduled oral arguments for Oct. 4 for the disqualification of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.
This development is great news for Donald Trump, as it all but guarantees that his RICO trial won’t happen before the election.
The possibility that the disqualification fight could stretch to October, as well as an ongoing question about how the Supreme Court’s upcoming ruling on presidential immunity could impact the prosecution, makes it extremely unlikely Trump will go on trial for election subversion in Georgia before Election Day.
Attorneys were informed of the tentative date after the case was officially docketed Monday with the appeals court, according to a notice obtained by CNN.
Briefs from defense attorneys in the case are due in 20 days.
While the court tentatively set an oral argument day, it is not guaranteed. A party to the case has to request an oral argument and the court then decides whether to grant that request. The panel could also decide to forgo oral arguments and rule on the matter based on filed briefs.
A panel of three judges – Todd Markle, Trenton Brown and Benjamin Land – is set to consider the case.
Willis had fought hard to prevent the disqualification hearing from taking place. Now that it has officially been put on the docket, her days leading this case may very well be numbered.
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