Judge rules Fani Willis can stay on Trump's Georgia election case

Judge Scott McAfee is allowing Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to continue on the election subversion case against Donald Trump – but she was forced to lose special prosecutor Nathan Wade after an embarrassing two months that put Willis and Wade on trial themselves over their romantic relationship.

It’s a technical legal win for Willis since she will have the option to continue, along with her full office, prosecuting Trump and 14 others. But McAfee’s 23-page opinion was a scathing rebuke of the district attorney’s actions, and it remains unclear if Trump will face trial before November on his actions after the 2020 presidential election.

Here are some of the key takeaways:

• Willis survives, but the DA and her case are wounded: While Willis survived the disqualification challenge, the detour over her relationship with Wade has left a stain on her case, both in court — where potential jurors are likely to be familiar with the episode – and the broader public, which will vote on whether to return Trump to the White House in November. Both Willis and Wade took the stand and in McAfee's ruling Friday, the judge described Willis’ fiery testimony as “unprofessional.”
• Wade resigns hours after decision: While the judge gave Willis the option to remove herself or Wade from the case, there was really no choice: If Willis chose to take her office off the case instead of Wade, it would be transferred to Georgia’s Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council for reassignment — a move that could fatally derail the complicated racketeering case depending on who took over. In his resignation letter to Willis on Friday, Wade said he was proud of the work of their team. Accepting his resignation, Willis thanked her former special prosecutor for his work.
• Trump keeps racking up pre-trial wins: Friday’s ruling still represents a partial victory for the former president in an attempt to delay his four criminal trials and turn the tables on the prosecutors who have indicted him. Trump’s attorneys have successfully employed numerous efforts to delay all four of the criminal trials that could sideline the former president from the campaign trail this year.
• Why Willis wasn't disqualified: McAfee said questions remained about the timing of the relationship between Wade and Willis and the payments that Wade made when the pair took trips together. But he determined there wasn’t conclusive proof of the allegations against them. “Ultimately, dismissal of the indictment is not the appropriate remedy to adequately dissipate the financial cloud of impropriety and potential untruthfulness found here," he wrote.
• McAfee suggests the possibility of a gag order: McAfee wrote that Willis’ comments at an Atlanta-area church in January about the case were “legally improper.” He also warned of the potential for a future gag order against Willis. During the speech earlier this year, Willis defended Wade, suggesting he was being targeted because he was a “Black man.”

Read the full takeaways from the ruling and previous proceedings

This post has been updated with Wade's resignation.

The judge overseeing Donald J. Trump's criminal trial in Manhattan has agreed to delay the start of the trial, further upending the legal calendar for the former president and current GOP nominee. 

The trial had been scheduled to begin on March 25.

The news comes as a judge in Georgia ruled that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis will be allowed to continue to prosecute an election interference case against Trump.

Former President Donald Trump responded to the resignation of prosecutor Nathan Wade in a Truth Social post, calling it “BIG STUFF.”

Trump went on to claim that Wade was hired “to persecute TRUMP” and “for purposes of Election Interference.”

The clock will soon begin ticking for potential appeals to be filed over Judge Scott McAfee’s ruling allowing Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to continue overseeing Trump’s election interference case.

Both Willis and the defense attorneys who mounted the disqualification effort could – for different reasons – decide to pursue an appeal of the ruling.

Under Georgia law, either side must first ask McAfee to grant them permission to appeal his ruling and he must respond within the next 10 days. That window begins Saturday, putting the deadline at March 25.

Should the judge agree to grant what’s known as a “certificate of immediate review,” the party pursuing the appeal then has another 10 days to ask the Georgia Court of Appeals to take up their appeal. Once that request is in, the appeals court has 45 days to decide whether to take the case.

A decision from the Court of Appeals could be appealed further to the Supreme Court of Georgia, which also has discretion over which cases it hears.

Key context: Trump's attorney has already signaled that he plans to pursue an appeal. The former president's primary strategy in his criminal cases has been to delay trials past the November election. Already, he's successfully pushed back the trial in the election subversion case brought by special counsel Jack Smith in Washington, DC. 

The post has been updated with more background on the appeal process.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis accepted Nathan Wade's resignation in a letter released Friday afternoon and thanked the former special prosecutor for leading the probe into Donald Trump.

“I will always remember - and will remind everyone - that you were brave enough to step forward and take on the investigation and prosecution of the allegations that the defendants in this case engaged in a conspiracy to overturn Georgia's 2020 Presidential Election," Willis wrote.
“I compliment you for the professionalism and dignity you have shown over the last 865 days, as you have endured threats against you and your family, as well as unjustified attacks in the media and in court on your reputation as a lawyer.
“Others who were considered were understandably concerned for the safety of themselves and their families that would arise from their acceptance of your role. You were the one who had the courage to accept the role, even though you did not seek it.”

The post has been updated with more details from Willis' statement.

Special prosecutor Nathan Wade has stepped down after a Fulton County judge rebuked him and District Attorney Fani Willis in a ruling that allowed Willis to remain on the 2020 election interference case if Wade was removed.

This is what he said in his letter of resignation:

“The furtherance of the rule of law and democracy is and has always been the North Star of our combined efforts in the prosecution of those who are alleged to have attempted to overthrow the results of Georgia's 2020 Presidential Election.”
“I am proud of the work our team has accomplished in investigating, indicting, and litigating this case. 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.”
“I am offering my resignation in the interest of democracy, in dedication to the American public, and to move this case forward as quickly as possible.”

Nathan Wade, the embattled Georgia special prosecutor tasked with leading the case against Donald Trump and his allies, has stepped down in the wake of a scathing ruling from the Fulton County judge overseeing the case.

The defense attorney who first raised allegations about impropriety by District Attorney Fani Willis and called for her to be disqualified called Friday's ruling "a vindication" that the information presented by the defense was true — even though she believes the court should have removed Willis from the case.

“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," Ashleigh Merchant said in a statement to CNN. 

Merchant represents Trump co-defendant Mike Roman, a former official in his 2020 campaign. 

“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," Merchant said.

Remember: The judge ruled Willis can continue to prosecute the 2020 election interference case, but only if special prosecutor Nathan Wade is removed.

The judge said neither side conclusively demonstrated whether Willis' romantic relationship with Wade started before or after his hiring — which was central to the debate over Merchant's claims of a conflict of interest — but that Willis had exercised poor judgment regardless.

Defense attorneys seeking to derail the Georgia election subversion case made a range of arguments for disqualifying District Attorney Fani Willis. Here’s how Judge Scott McAfee addressed them.

On allegations of a financial conflict of interest: McAfee said Donald Trump and others failed to prove an actual conflict of interest. “The Court finds that the Defendants failed to meet their burden of proving that the District Attorney acquired an actual conflict of interest in this case through her personal relationship and recurring travels with her lead prosecutor,” McAfee wrote. 

McAfee goes on to say there is an appearance of impropriety "that infects the current structure of the prosecution team — an appearance that must be removed through the State’s selection of one of two options.”

Those two options are either Willis steps down from the case or Nathan Wade withdraws. 

On other alleged grounds for disqualification: McAfee denied the other arguments for disqualifying Willis, including allegedly failing to follow financial disclosure requirements in Fulton County and alleged payment and hiring violations.

McAfee also denied efforts to disqualify Willis based on alleged “forensic misconduct” stemming from her response at an Atlanta-area church in January to criticism over her hiring Wade.