Trump appeals lead attorney remaining on Georgia case

Former President Donald Trump and several of his co-defendants on Monday appealed a judge’s decision to allow the lead prosecutor to continue working on the case. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis alleges that Trump and others sought to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee last week ruled that either Willis or special prosecutor Nathan Wade had to quit the case. Later that same day, Wade offered to resign, and Willis accepted his resignation. She intends to continue to prosecute Trump and his co-defendants for allegedly seeking to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia.

Why did the judge rule that one of them had to leave? One of Trump’s co-defendants, Michael Roman, earlier this year filed a motion to dismiss all charges against him and dismiss Wade and Willis from the prosecution. Roman’s filing alleged that Willis had improperly benefited from hiring Wade, with whom she had a relationship and with whom she had vacationed at Wade’s expense. Trump and other co-defendants later adopted that same motion. Willis acknowledged the “private relationship” in a later court filing. But in an evidentiary hearing last month, she insisted that she paid Wade back with cash for the trips she took. She said she could not prove that she had done so.

Why is Trump saying Willis should leave too? In their appeal, Trump and his co-defendants insist that an appellate court should review McAfee’s decision. They argue McAfee acknowledged Willis’ unethical conduct but refused to punish her for it.

Dig deeper: Read Carolina Lumetta’s report in The Stew about the prosecution against Trump in Fulton County.