A Georgia judge has sided with lawyers for former President Donald Trump and his co-defendants, ordering an immediate hearing to explore whether Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis should be dismissed from his ongoing case over potentially perjuring herself under oath.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee has granted a “certificate of immediate review” to Trump’s attorneys, indicating that their motion to disqualify Willis “is of such importance to the case that immediate review should be had,” according to a legal filing posted online. Willis and her team will now have the opportunity to petition an appeals court to overturn McAfee’s decision.
BREAKING: 🚨🚨
Judge grants “certificate of immediate review” in the #FaniWillis disqualification motion
This means the Court of Appeals has to also approve, but it’s likely to be allowed
The issue is too important pic.twitter.com/Ot6DQ21DBM
— Phil Holloway ✈️ (@PhilHollowayEsq) March 20, 2024
Further on, Judge McAfee added that he will continue moving through pretrial motions while a review of Willis’ qualifications remains pending.
WATCH:
“The Court intends to continue addressing the many other unrelated pending pretrial motions, regardless of whether the petition is granted within 45 days of filing,” he wrote.
The ruling is another body blow to Willis, who last week was ordered to recuse herself or accept the resignation of fellow prosecutor and romantic partner Nathan Wade. The couple’s relationship became the prime focus of defense attorneys who first raised the possibility that Willis hired Wade to the tune of $700,000 after she began carrying on an affair with him during his divorce proceedings.
Taking the stand, Willis stated that her relationship with Wade began after he was hired in 2021 to join the Trump investigation where the Republican has been charged with felonies related to alleged attempts to overturn Georgia’s 2020 election results. She was contradicted by a former friend and Wade’s former divorce attorney, both of whom stated that the affair preceded Wade’s hiring.
If so, Willis likely committed perjury by covering up the nepotistic hiring of Wade, an offense that not only risks her oversight of the case but also more serious penalties including disbarment and removal from office. Following the news of her affair with Wade, a Georgia panel has been formed to explore whether state prosecutors are executing their oaths of office while legal observers believe her law license could be in jeopardy.
Other observers, most recently CNN’s Jeffrey Toobin, are declaring Willis’ case against Trump dead on arrival not only because of her grave self-inflicted wounds, but also due to the truncated timeline to hold hearings, depose witnesses, and discover documents across four ongoing criminal trials involving President Trump. Should any or all of his cases drag past Election Day, it’s widely expected that Trump, if he wins, could dismiss two federal cases against him and indefinitely postpone local cases in Georgia and New York.