The Georgia Court of Appeals has temporarily halted the proceedings of the Georgia election interference case involving former President Trump and others, while also reviewing the decision of the lower court judge that allows Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to continue handling the case.
The appellate court’s decision on Wednesday (June 5) prevented Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee from moving forward with pre-trial motions during the pending appeal. This order also diminishes the likelihood of the case going to trial before the November election.
On Monday (June 3), the Georgia Court of Appeals scheduled oral arguments for October 4, if requested and approved by the parties, with a preliminary ruling expected by mid-March of next year. The losing party can then appeal to the Georgia Supreme Court.
In the Georgia case, Willis brought criminal charges against Trump and 18 other Republican allies last August, accusing them of conspiracy to commit extortion in an attempt to overturn Biden’s 2020 election victory in the state. Four of the defendants have pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with Willis’s prosecutorial team.
Trump and the other eight defendants sought to have Willis and her team removed from the case, claiming a conflict of interest due to her relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade. In March, McAfee ruled that Trump and his co-defendants “failed to carry their burden” to prove that Willis’s relationship with Wade constituted a conflict of interest and did not sufficiently demonstrate that Willis derived any financial benefit from it, hence she should not be forced off the case. McAfee did note that Willis could only stay on the case if Wade resigned, which he did hours later.
Trump and the other co-defendants applied to appeal McAfee’s decision not to remove Willis. In a brief order on May 8, the Georgia Court of Appeals approved the request to hear that appeal. McAfee wrote, “the stench of mendacity still remains.” He pointed out the “legitimate questions” regarding whether Willis and Wade testified truthfully about their relationship, further suggesting an appearance of impropriety that requires corrective action.
Allegations of Willis benefiting improperly from her relationship with Wade have thrown the case into turmoil in the following months, as details of their private lives emerged in mid-February.
Willis paid Wade a substantial amount under a professional services agreement, and they enjoyed lavish vacations together, with Wade footing the bills. Willis claimed to have paid her share in cash to Wade during a prior hearing, but neither could produce concrete evidence.
Both Willis and Wade stated that they only began dating in early 2022, after Willis hired Wade as a special prosecutor to investigate the Trump case. However, at the hearing, two witnesses familiar with Willis testified that their romantic involvement actually began in 2019.