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Former President Donald Trump is not attending a hearing on whether Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis should be disqualified from his election interference case and will instead be in court in New York on Thursday, according to his attorney.
Willis, who last year charged Trump in the Georgia election interference case, is set to attend a hearing on Thursday to address her relationship with Nathan Wade, a special prosecutor she hired in the case. Trump's legal team has argued the romantic relationship between Willis and Wade should lead to her disqualification, saying the pair benefitted financially from taxpayer's money.
Willis and Wade admitted to having a romantic relationship but denied that it created a conflict of interest in the case. Allegations about the relationship were first made by former Trump staffer and co-defendant Michael Roman.
Judge Scott McAfee will address the concerns during a hearing on Thursday. Trump is not set to attend the hearing, his attorneys said. If McAfee sides with Trump's attorneys, Willis would be removed from leading the prosecution against the former president.
"NEW: Trump's Georgia attorney, Steve Sadow, says that the former President will NOT attend Thursday's hearing in Fulton County," posted Lawfare reporter Anna Bower to X (formerly Twitter). "'President Trump will be attending court in New York on Thursday,' Sadow said."
Newsweek reached out to Trump's campaign for comment via email.
Willis' criminal investigation into Trump focused on his call to Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, in which the former president asked him to find enough votes to tilt the 2020 election in his favor in the state, as well as efforts to submit a false slate of pro-Trump electors to the Electoral College.
Trump maintains his innocence in the case, pleaded not guilty to all charges, and has accused Willis of targeting him for political purposes.
If Willis is removed from the case, it would not dismissed. Instead, another district attorney, or potentially Attorney General Christopher M. Carr, a Republican, could take over the prosecution.
Trump will be attending a hearing into Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's investigation into hush money he allegedly paid to adult film actor Stormy Daniels during his 2016 presidential campaign. Daniels said she and Trump had an affair, a claim the former president has denied.
Bragg charged Trump on counts of falsifying business records for the alleged payment. Trump has maintained his innocence in the case and accused Bragg of a politically motivated prosecution.
New York Judge Juan M. Merchan could set a date for the trial, potentially as early as next month, during Thursday's hearing, The New York Times reported.
Update 2/13/24, 10:53 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
About the writer
Andrew Stanton is a Newsweek weekend reporter based in Maine. His role is reporting on U.S. politics and social issues. ... Read more