Donald Trump Doesn't Want Fani Willis Disqualified—Here's Why

Donald Trump doesn't want Fani Willis removed from his Georgia case because she is too valuable as a distraction from his election fraud case, a law professor has said.

Greg Germain, a law professor at Syracuse University in New York, was responding to Trump's application to have Willis removed because of her relationship with the chief prosecutor in his Georgia election fraud case.

Judge Scott McAfee is expected to rule by the end of this week on whether Willis, the Fulton County district attorney, should be removed from the Trump case or even face perjury charges as a result of her relationship with prosecutor Nathan Wade.

Trump and his co-accused claim that Willis only appointed Wade to the case because they were in a relationship, a claim they have strongly denied.

Trump pleaded not guilty to charges relating to his alleged attempts to illegally overturn Georgia's result in the 2020 presidential election. The former president has said the case is politically motivated because he is the presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee.

Germain told Newsweek he suspects that Trump and his attorneys want to keep Willis in place.

"I suspect they are hoping that she is not disqualified, so they can divert the focus away from their conduct and towards the prosecutor," he said.

Germain said he believes that replacing Willis and Wade might make the case more difficult for Trump.

"I wonder whether the Trump team is really better off if they are removed. They would get a new prosecutor without baggage," he said.

Germain said that he cannot see any conflict of interest in the case.

"Willis and Wade are on the same side, there is no conflict of interest concerning their joint role in the Trump case. The judge could decide to remove them because the evidence is unseemly, but it's entirely unrelated to the merits of the claims that she is prosecuting," Germain added.

Last month, Willis gave evidence in a two-day hearing following accusations that Willis was in a relationship with Wade. The timeline of their relationship has emerged as a key point of contention. Trump's lawyers examined phone records alleging the pair were in a relationship before the Georgia election fraud case began.

Willis and Wade contest that and have said under oath that their relationship began after the indictment of Trump and 18 other defendants for allegedly trying to overthrow the result of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia.

Trump's team presented evidence from a technical expert that allegedly shows that Wade made late-night trips to Willis' home long before the Trump case began.