Fani Willis Faces 'Easy Choice' After Nathan Wade Ruling: Legal Analyst

Fani Willis faces the "easy choice" of either removing herself or her former partner, Nathan Wade, from Donald Trump's Georgia election interference case.

Following the Fulton County District Attorney's ethics hearing, Judge Scott McAfee Friday announced he wasn't disqualifying Willis from the case, but gave her the option of removing herself or Wade, a special prosecutor she hired for the trial.

MSNBC legal analyst Lisa Rubin called the verdict "an easy choice and a victory for Willis," but acknowledged she had been rebuked.

The Context

Willis last month gave evidence in a two-day hearing following accusations by former Donald Trump staffer and co-defendant Michael Roman that she was having an affair with Wade, a special prosecutor she hired in the high-profile case. Trump and 18 others are accused in a 41-count indictment of trying to overturn his 2020 election loss in Georgia.

The former president has pleaded not guilty to all 13 charges against him and has repeatedly said the case is part of a political witch hunt aimed at undermining his position as front-runner for the GOP 2024 presidential nomination.

It was alleged that Willis and Wade had benefited financially from taxpayers' money. They later admitted they had a relationship, but denied a conflict of interest.

What We Know

McAfee ruled that the case against the former president can continue if Willis removes Wade from the case, or if her entire office dismisses themselves from it.

"Without sufficient evidence that the District Attorney acquired a personal stake in the prosecution, or that her financial arrangements had any impact on the case, the Defendants' claims of an actual conflict must be denied," the ruling said. "This finding is by no means an indication that the Court condones this tremendous lapse in judgment or the unprofessional manner of the District Attorney's testimony during the evidentiary hearing."

McAfee added that "Georgia law does not permit the finding of an actual conflict for simply making bad choices," and noted that "it is the trial court's duty to confine itself to the relevant issues and applicable law properly brought before it."

Writing on X, formerly Twitter, Rubin relayed the news:

While this may be good news, Willis' case against Trump also suffered a setback on Wednesday when the judge dismissed three counts in the case. He wrote that "the lack of detail concerning an essential legal element is, in the undersigned's opinion, fatal" in relation to allegations that Trump attempted to solicit former Georgia House Speaker David Ralston and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger into breaking their oaths of office in a bid to overturn the 2020 presidential election result in the state.

Views

"Judge McAfee just gave Fani Willis the best ruling he could. Wade is going to go," Anthony Michael Kreis, a law professor and constitutional attorney, wrote on X, formerly Twitter following the decision.

What's Next?

Newsweek contacted Willis via LinkedIn to comment on her decision.