A Georgia appeals court has removed Fani Willis, the Fulton County district attorney who spearheaded the election interference case against President-elect Donald Trump. The court handed down the ruling on Thursday, Dec. 19, serving as a legal victory for the president-elect.
Willis brought charges against Trump and more than a dozen of his allies last year. The charges stem from alleged attempts to overturn the state’s 2020 presidential election results.
The appellate court panel questioned the charges Willis brought forward. The court also took issue with Willis hiring Nathan Wade as special prosecutor.
Willis and Wade had a previous romantic relationship. The court claimed Willis’ hiring of Wade was unethical.
In the initial ruling, a county judge allowed Willis to stay on the case with the condition Wade was removed. Trump and other defendants appealed that decision, putting the case at a standstill.
Willis and Wade both said their relationship ended before a grand jury indicted Trump and the other defendants in 2023.
A 2-1 vote by the appeals court disqualified her, saying the trial court failed to remove Willis despite her misconduct in bringing Wade onto the case.
“This is the rare case in which disqualification is mandated and no other remedy will suffice to restore public confidence in the integrity of these proceedings,” the court said in a statement.
Judge Benjamin Land issued a dissenting opinion against the two other judges. In reaction to the decision, he wrote the appeals court has no authority to reverse the original decision to keep Willis on the case.
“For at least the last 43 years, our appellate courts have held that an appearance of impropriety, without an actual conflict of interest or actual impropriety, provides no basis for the reversal of a trial court’s denial of a motion to disqualify.”
Statement by Appellate Judge Benjamin Land
Trump’s lawyer, Steve Sadow, said the ruling puts an end to a politically motivated persecution against the incoming president.
“The court highlighted that Willis’ misconduct created an ‘odor of mendacity’ and an appearance of impropriety that could only be cured by the disqualification of her and her entire office.”
Statement by Trump’s attorney Steve Sadow
As Trump’s inauguration ceremony draws closer, the likelihood of a criminal case against him seems unlikely. This follows the Supreme Court’s decision this summer granting former presidents immunity from prosecution.
Department of Justice special counsel Jack Smith already dropped two federal cases against Trump. A judge put an indefinite hold on sentencing for Trump’s hush money case in New York as the president-elect prepares to take office.
Willis and her office filed a notice with the Georgia Supreme Court to review the decision made by the appeals court.
The ruling means another prosecutor will have to take over the election interference case.