Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee ruled on March 15 Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis does not need to step down from prosecuting the high-profile case against former President Donald Trump and 14 others if special counsel Nathan Wade is taken off the case.
The district attorney stepping aside would remove her entire office from the case, which would then need to wait for reassignment to another prosecutor. Mr. Wade is an outside attorney contracted by the office and his leaving the case would allow it to continue without any delay.
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Texas AG Paxton Suggests ‘Rule of Law Means Nothing’ to Judge McAfee
By Sam Dorman
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton lambasted the ruling and suggested that Judge Scott McAfee allowed the rule of law to “go by the wayside.”
“Today, the rule of law is completely going by the wayside and I think it really started under President Obama, and we’ve just moved to this place where now judges – and I deal with this, I know President Trump deals with this … the rule of law means nothing,” he told Blaze TV host Glenn Beck.
“They look at things politically, and they want a certain result, which is get rid of him so that he cannot be president—because they don’t feel like even with some potential voter fraud out there that they can beat him. And so, they are willing to ignore normal rules of procedure, normal rules of conflict, normal rule of law, to say the result matters here, let’s just keep on going.”
“It’s wrong, it’s unethical, and if our system of laws breaks down, we don’t have a constitutional republic.”
More Action Needed, Says Trump Attorney
By Sam Dorman
President Trump’s lead defense counsel Steve Sadow said Judge Scott McAfee’s ruling didn’t go far enough.
“While respecting the Court’s decision, we believe that it did not afford appropriate significance to the prosecutorial misconduct of Willis and Wade, including the financial benefits, testifying untruthfully about when their personal relationship began, as well as Willis’ extrajudicial MLK ‘church speech,’ where she played the race card and falsely accused the defendants and their counsel of racism,” Mr. Sadow said on X, formerly Twitter.
“We will use all legal options available as we continue to fight to end this case, which should never have been brought in the first place.”
Lawyer and TV personality Greta Van Susteren called on X for a special prosecutor to investigate whether Ms. Willis committed perjury. She added that “failure to do so says system is rigged.” In another post, she said: “The Governor needs to confront this – failure to do so shows a rogue system.”
Observers responded to Mr. Wade’s resignation by calling for additional action. “Now it is time for Fani to be DISBARRED and RESIGN!” Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas) said.
Mr. Sadow critiqued Ms. Willis’ praise of Mr. Wade’s “professionalism and dignity.”
He posted: “The Court says: ‘However, an odor of mendacity [UNTRUTHFULNESS; TENDENCY TO LIE] remains,’ …. ‘reasonable questions’ about whether Willis and Wade testified truthfully about the timing of their relationship ‘further underpin the finding of an appearance of impropriety and the need to make proportional efforts to cure it.’”
Defense Attorney Says Ruling Vindicates Her Team
By Sam Dorman
Defense attorney Ashleigh Merchant, who brought the disqualification motion, opined Judge Scott McAfee’s decision should have gone further but that his words vindicated her team’s arguments.
“While we believe the court should have disqualified Willis’ office entirely, this opinion is a vindication that everything put forth by the defense was true, accurate and relevant to the issues surrounding our client’s right to a fair trial,” she said in a statement, according to Fox News.
Ms. Merchant brought the motion to disqualify Ms. Willis and had a testy interaction with Ms. Willis during her testimony in February.
“The judge clearly agreed with the defense that the actions of Willis are a result of her poor judgment and that there is a risk to the future of this case if she doesn’t quickly work to cure her conflict.”
Ms. Merchant added: “While we do not agree that the courts suggested cure is adequate in response to the egregious conduct by the district attorney, we look forward to the district attorney’s response to the demands by the court. We will continue to fight for our client.”
Trump Reacts to Wade’s Resignation
By Sam Dorman
Former President Donald Trump. responding to special prosecutor Nathan Wade’s resignation, derided both District Attorney Fani Willis and Mr. Wade.
“The Fani Willis lover, Mr. Nathan Wade Esq., has just resigned in disgrace, as per his and her reading of the Judge’s Order today,” he said in a post on TruthSocial.
“Nathan was the ‘Special,’ in more ways than one, Prosecutor ‘engaged’ by Fani (pronounced Fauni!) Willis, to persecute TRUMP for Crooked Joe Biden and his Department of Injustice, for purposes of Election Interference and living the life of the Rich & Famous.”
He compared Mr. Wade’s resignation to a would-be resignation from Special Counsel Jack Smith.
“This is the equivalent of Deranged Jack Smith getting ‘canned,’ BIG STUFF, something which should happen in the not too distant future!!!”
Trump Prosecutor Nathan Wade Steps Down
By Sam Dorman
Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade has tendered his resignation following the Judge McAfee’s ruling, paving the way for Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to continue prosecuting the election case against President Trump.
“I hereby offer my resignation, effective immediately,” Mr. Wade wrote in a letter to Ms. Willis.
He said was resigning “in the interest of democracy, in dedication to the American public, and to move this case forward as quickly as possible.”
“I am proud of the work our team has accomplished in investigating, indicting, and litigating this case,” he said. “Seeking justice for the people of Georgia and the United States, and being part of the effort to ensure that the rule of law and democracy are preserved, has been the honor of a lifetime.”
Mr. Wade didn’t acknowledge wrongdoing but instead quoted the court in stating the defense hadn’t found an actual conflict of interest.
“Although the court found, that ‘the Defendants failed to meet their burden of proving that the District Attorney acquired an actual conflict of interest,’ I am offering my resignation in the interest of democracy.”
Ms. Willis responded with a letter accepting Mr. Wade’s resignation while complimenting him for his “professionalism and dignity.”
She described him as an “outstanding advocate” and praised his “courage” in accepting the special prosecutor role.
Mr. Wade, she said, had “endured threats against you and your family, as well as unjustified attacks in the media and in court on your reputation as a lawyer.”
READ: Nathan Wade’s Resignation Letter
Read Nathan Wade’s resignation letter and District Attorney Fani Willis’s acceptance letter here.
Judge Highlights Unresolved Issues in Willis Disqualification Ruling
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee ruled that defendants had not met the standard for disqualification of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis in the high-profile election case, but highlighted several unresolved issues in his March 15 order.
The ruling was much anticipated, as Ms. Willis has been the subject of numerous investigations since allegations of an improper relationship and financial benefit were made early this year.
The embattled district attorney is allowed to continue prosecuting the case against former President Donald Trump and 14 codefendants so long as Nathan Wade, the special counsel she appointed named in the motion to disqualify, is taken off the case. He issued his resignation shortly after the ruling.
The relationship between Ms. Willis and Mr. Wade was a “significant appearance of impropriety that infects the current structure of the prosecution team,” the judge ruled, finding that the removal of either Mr. Wade or Ms. Willis’s office would “cure” the issue.
The motion to disqualify was brought by Ashleigh Merchant, legal counsel to defendant Michael Roman, whose due diligence when Mr. Wade was appointed to lead the case led to an open records investigation into the district attorney’s finances. She later learned, through a former associate of Mr. Wade’s, of an affair he had with Ms. Willis. The relationship was not previously known by even Ms. Willis’s staff or family, and the prosecutors neither confirmed nor denied it until they filed a required Feb. 2 court filing acknowledging a “personal” relationship.
Ruling ‘Actually a Win’ for Trump: Expert
By Sam Dorman
In an interview with NTD, criminal defense attorney David Gelman criticized Judce Scott McAfee’s ruling, saying it “literally made no sense” and that both Ms. Willis and Mr. Wade should be removed. He added, however, that Judge McAfee’s decision nonetheless helped President Trump and his co-defendants in the Georgia case.
“I do think it is actually a win for Donald Trump’s legal team and the co-defendants because, as a criminal defense attorney, I’m licking my chops to go after Fani Willis and that prosecutor’s office,” he said. “They’re inept. They already messed up the indictment, they had counts already dismissed. They already have been embarrassed. If this goes to trial … they have a very, very slim chance at winning.”
Mr. Gelman also predicted a delay for the trial and speculated it likely wouldn’t start before November, when the presidential election is taking place. A new prosecutor would need time to catch up on the case, he said.
Governor Called Upon to Take Action
Author and combat veteran Sean Parnell called on Gov. Brian Kemp to “step in & let his AG for after Fani.”
Attorney and commentator Greta Van Susteren similarly called on Gov. Kemp to take action.
“The Governor needs to confront this – failure to do so shows a rogue system,” she posted.
Turning Point founder Charlie Kirk said media personalities on both sides of the political aisle have taken issue with Ms. Willis, highlighting the extent of the impropriety.
“It’s time for Georgia to use SB 332, which Gov Kemp signed into law just this week, and remove the rogue prosecutor in Fulton,” he posted.
On Wednesday, Gov. Kemp re-authorized a commission to sanction and remove prosecutors after signing the Prosecuting Attorneys and Qualifications Commission bill into law last May. The law had been blocked by the Georgia Supreme Court last year but was amended in the legislature weeks later to address the court’s concerns.
“This legislation will help ensure rogue and incompetent prosecutors are held accountable if they refuse to uphold the law,” the governor said.
Experts Say Willis Should Recuse Herself
Experts and commentators on both sides of the political aisle have said Ms. Willis should recuse herself.
“For the good of the case, given that ethics issues will abound now as to Willis, she should voluntarily recuse herself from the case and allow another prosecutor to oversee the GA trump case,” wrote Andrew Weissmann, former assistant U.S. Attorney and MSNBC co-host.
Heritage Foundation senior legal fellows Hans von Spakovsky and Charles Stimson similarly said Ms. Willis should choose to recuse herself.
“Fani Willis should recuse herself and her entire office from the cases. The court found that through her own conduct, there was a clear appearance of impropriety and that her speech at an Atlanta church was ‘legally improper.’ Attorney Nathan Wade should also recuse himself, and the court found his testimony not to be credible. These cases should be referred to the Georgia Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council for reassignment,” they stated.
Others praised the judge’s decision.
“Judge McAfee’s ruling was clearly correct under Georgia law. Taking so much time and care to do the right thing will stand him in good stead as he seeks to retain his judgeship in the upcoming election,” posted legal scholar Laurence Tribe.
Legal analyst Renato Mariotti said the decision was a “very reasonable and ‘down the middle’ result.”
GOP Lawmakers Blast Decision
Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas) accused the judge of being politically motivated and posted on social media that “Fani Willis should be disbarred,” calling for the RICO indictment charges to be dropped.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) similarly questioned Judge McAfee’s impartiality, arguing that he “worked for Fani Willis and donated to her campaign” and said the judge “should have recused himself in the first place.”
Rep. Greene called on the state ethics board to investigate Ms. Willis, adding that “I’ve filed multiple complaints!”
“The corrupt in Fulton County, Georgia is some of the worst in the nation. It makes most of us in Georgia sick,” she posted.
Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas) similarly described the case as a “witch-hunt” and “election interference.” He called for disciplinary action against Ms. Willis, saying she not only should “have been disqualified, she should be disbarred.”
‘Like Finding 2 People in a Bank Vault and Taking One Off to Jail’: Expert
Legal expert Jonathan Turley said the judge left a lot of unanswered questions in his ruling.
“This avoided the cliff but it did not avoid the questions that will inevitably come up. It’s like finding two people in a bank vault and taking one off to jail,” Mr. Turley told Fox News. “The appearance problem that the judge identified with regards to Wade was directly related to his relationship with Willis. They both testified in the same way, they were the two parts of this relationship, and only one of them was disqualified.”
“Why should Willis escape that same penalty? The opinion leaves us feeling like the court went and shot the wounded,” he said, though he added that the judge has otherwise behaved in a “fair and efficient” way.
Mr. Turley speculated that this outcome may be a positive one for Trump and codefendants, as they put the spotlight on an “improper” relationship and the events have “wounded Willis.”
“She’s accused of false statements as she prosecuted others for that same conduct. And keep in mind, there are state efforts now to investigate this, including bar issues,” Mr. Turley said.
Dershowitz: Judge ‘Doesn’t Have the Guts’ to Disqualify
Alan Dershowitz, professor emeritus at Harvard Law, said in National Report interview that the outcome was what he predicted while criticizing the judge.
Mr. Dershowitz alleged Ms. Willis perjured herself and conspired to commit perjury with Mr. Wade.
“Who are we going to believe, this judge or your lying eyes? We all know there was an actual conflict of interest here. He just didn’t have the guts to say it and I predicted he wouldn’t have the guts to say it, he has to live in Fulton County,” Mr. Dershowitz said. “He said some things that were very critical of her, but still, he should have removed her from the case.”
Trump Attorney Responds
“While respecting the Court’s decision, we believe that the Court did not afford appropriate significance to the prosecutorial misconduct of Willis and Wade, including the financial benefits, testifying untruthfully about when their personal relationship began, as well as Willis’ extrajudicial MLK ‘church speech,’ where she played the race card and falsely accused the defendants and their counsel of racism,” stated Steve Sadow, lead defense counsel for President Trump in Fulton County, Georgia.
“We will use all legal options available as we continue to fight to end this case, which should never have been brought in the first place.”
Judge Takes Issue With Willis’s Church Speech
During Ms. Willis’s church speech, she lambasted a Fulton County Commissioner “and so many others” for criticizing her decision to hire Mr. Wade.
“The State argues the speech was not aimed at any of the Defendants in this case. Maybe so. But maybe not,” the judge wrote. “Therein lies the danger of public comment by a prosecuting attorney.”
Mr. Sadow had argued in court that media coverage of the speech was that Ms. Willis was talking about the defendants.
The judge agreed, finding that Ms. Willis “cast racial aspersions” on the defendants, though it was too early to make arguments about prejudicing the jury pool.
“But it was still legally improper. Providing this type of public comment creates dangerous waters for the District Attorney to wade further into,” he wrote.
“The time may well have arrived for an order preventing the State from mentioning the case in any public forum to prevent prejudicial pretrial publicity, but that is not the motion presently before the Court,” the judge wrote.
Other Claims
The judge noted that the eight defendants joining the Roman motion had brought a variety of other claims perhaps better suited to separate motions as they did not advance a motion to dismiss based on conflict of interest.
Defendant Cathy Latham had argued that Ms. Willis was politically motivated, and the judge said this was a selective prosecution issue that should be submitted as a “motion asking the trial court to exercise its judicial power on equal protection grounds.”
He also referenced additional issues before the state ethics board; since the Jan. 8 allegations, several investigations into and ethics complaints have been made against Ms. Willis, but those were not issues presented to the court.
“Other forums or sources of authority such as the General Assembly, the Georgia State Ethics Commission, the State Bar of Georgia, the Fulton County Board of Commissioners, or the voters of Fulton County may offer feedback on any unanswered questions that linger.”
DA Office
The Fulton County District Attorney’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
Full Judgment
Read the order here.
The judge granted in part and denied in part the motion to disqualify.
He found that the defense failed to prove “an actual conflict of interest,” but the relationship between Ms. Willis and Mr. Wade was a “significant appearance of impropriety that infects the current structure of the prosecution team.”
The decision came after three days of testimony, including Ms. Willis’s own heated testimony on the witness stand, and additional arguments in court.
Ms. Willis had hired Mr. Wade as special prosecutor to lead the case against President Trump and 14 others for allegedly violating Georgia’s racketeering law in their challenge of the 2020 elections.
The attorney for one of the defendants alleged an “improper” relationship between Ms. Willis and Mr. Wade, and a conflict of interest and financial benefit to Ms. Willis that was grounds to disqualify her as prosecutor and dismiss the indictment.
Prior to the evidentiary hearing, Ashleigh Merchant, attorney for defendant Michael Roman, suggested she obtained information supporting the allegations through a former law partner of Mr. Wade’s. Ms. Merchant took the lead in calling on and questioning witnesses for the defense and was later subpoenaed by a Georgia Senate panel to testify about her investigation into the district attorney’s hiring and budget practices.
Conflict of Interest Standard for Disqualification
In the order, Judge McAfee explained that disqualification is not a statutory standard but a “remedy” in the public interest; that public prosecutors must serve the public interest rather than private or political interest.
But “conflict of interest” is a factual standard, the judge continued. The fact that Mr. Wade was paid by the hour and could have had an interest in billing many hours is not a violation.
“Nor would a romantic relationship between prosecutors, standing alone, typically implicate disqualification, assuming neither prosecutor had the ability to pay the other as long as the relationship persisted,” the judge wrote. But in the current case, the combination of the romantic relationship and speculation of “improper motivations” complicated matters.
In such a motion, the burden of proof rests on the defense, which ultimately could not provide the evidence to contradict Ms. Willis and Mr. Wade’s testimonies. They also could show no forensic misconduct, or tie the alleged conflicts to prejudice.
“Defendants have failed to demonstrate that the District Attorney’s conduct has impacted or influenced the case to the Defendants’ detriment,” the judge wrote.
The judge criticized the district attorney’s behavior in response to the allegations however, writing that she displayed “tremendous lapse of judgment” and testified in an “unprofessional manner in the evidentiary hearing.
“Georgia law does not permit the finding of an actual conflict for simply making bad choices – even repeatedly,” he wrote.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee ruled Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis does not need to step down from prosecuting the high-profile case against former President Donald Trump and 14 others if special counsel Nathan Wade is taken off the case.
The judge granted in part and denied in part the motion to disqualify.
He found that the defense failed to prove “an actual conflict of interest,” but the relationship between Ms. Willis and Mr. Wade was a “significant appearance of impropriety that infects the current structure of the prosecution team.”
Appearance of Impropriety Persists ‘As Long As Wade Remains’
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee ruled on March 15 Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis does not need to step down from prosecuting the high-profile case against former President Donald Trump and 14 others if special counsel Nathan Wade is taken off the case.
The judge granted in part and denied in part the motion to disqualify.
He found that the defense failed to prove “an actual conflict of interest,” but the relationship between Ms. Willis and Mr. Wade was a “significant appearance of impropriety that infects the current structure of the prosecution team.”
Judge McAfee ruled that either Ms. Willis or Mr. Wade must step down from the case. The district attorney stepping aside would remove her entire office from the case, which would then need to wait for reassignment to another prosecutor. Mr. Wade is an outside attorney contracted by the office and his leaving the case would allow it to continue without any delay.
The decision came after three days of testimony, including Ms. Willis’s own heated testimony on the witness stand, and additional arguments in court.
Ms. Willis had hired Mr. Wade as special prosecutor to lead the case against President Trump and 14 others for allegedly violating Georgia’s racketeering law in their challenge of the 2020 elections.
The attorney for one of the defendants alleged an “improper” relationship between Ms. Willis and Mr. Wade, and a conflict of interest and financial benefit to Ms. Willis that was grounds to disqualify her as prosecutor and dismiss the indictment.
Prior to the evidentiary hearing, Ashleigh Merchant, attorney for defendant Michael Roman, suggested she obtained information supporting the allegations through a former law partner of Mr. Wade’s. Ms. Merchant took the lead in calling on and questioning witnesses for the defense and was later subpoenaed by a Georgia Senate panel to testify about her investigation into the district attorney’s hiring and budget practices.
The judge found that even if conflict of interest was not proven, the appearance of impropriety applied because “a perceived conflict in the reasonable eyes of the public threatens confidence in the legal system itself.”
Yet the remedy for an appearance issue is not disqualification, he added.
To remedy the appearance issue, which was caused by the relationship, one of the parties had to leave the case, the judge decided.
Ms. Willis and Mr. Wade had testified that the romantic relationship ended in the summer of 2023, but the judge said the testimony also highlighted that the appearance issue would persist.
“As the District Attorney testified, her relationship with Wade has only ‘cemented’ after these motions and ‘is stronger than ever,'” the judge wrote. “Wade’s patently unpersuasive explanation for the inaccurate interrogatories he submitted in his pending divorce indicates a willingness on his part to wrongly conceal his relationship with the District Attorney.”
As it stands, “reasonable members of the public” could continue to wonder if there is a financial benefit or continued romantic relation, he 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.”
From The Epoch Times
