Pinned
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.
While the judge in former President Donald Trump’s Georgia case allowed District Attorney Fani Willis to remain on the case, he criticized her for making a racially charged speech in mid-January in which she invoked the “race card.”
The Jan. 14 speech was given by Ms. Willis just days after allegations surfaced that she engaged in an improper relationship with her special counsel at an Atlanta church. Ms. Willis, who is black, appeared to suggest that court motions filed against her were based on a racial animus against her, while providing no evidence.
The comments, Judge Scott McAfee ruled Friday, was “legally improper,” and “providing this type of public comment creates dangerous waters for the District Attorney to wade further into.”
The demurrers, or formal challenges to pleadings by the prosecution, were brought by President Trump, former White House chief-of-staff Mark Meadows, and attorneys John Eastman, Ray Smith III, Robert Cheeley, and Rudy Giuliani.
Three of the quashed charges apply to President Trump, throwing out counts related to a phone call he made to the Georgia Secretary of State.