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Former President Donald Trump's legal team scored a major victory Friday, with either the district attorney or the chief prosecutor being forced out of his Georgia election case. The decision could disrupt the case by weeks or even months.
Trump pleaded not guilty to charges of illegally interfering in the presidential election result in Georgia in 2020. The presumptive Republican presidential nominee has said the case is politically motivated.
Judge Scott McAfee on Friday strongly criticized Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis for her lack of professionalism in giving evidence in the case and her "tremendous lapse in judgment" in her relationship with prosecutor Nathan Wade. However, he said he could not remove them both.
"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, he wrote.
"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."
Willis has already said that the trial may continue past presidential inauguration day in January 2025. If the case was transferred to another prosecutor, it would almost certainly delay the case past inauguration.
If elected president, Trump could then apply to the U.S. Supreme Court to have the case delayed until he leaves office.
Stephen Gillers, a law professor at New York University, told Newsweek that Trump's ultimate goal is to delay the case until after the election.
"It does appear that, inch by inch, the criminal justice system is making any 2024 trial less and less likely," he said. "Trump's lawyers just have to get to Labor Day and then nothing will happen until 2025, if then.
McAfee ruled on Friday that Willis can continue to oversee the Georgia election fraud case against Trump, but only if Wade leaves the case,
In February, Willis gave evidence in a two-day hearing following accusations that Willis was in a relationship with Wade. The timeline of their relationship emerged as a key point of contention.
Trump's lawyers examined phone records alleging the pair were in a relationship before the case began and that Willis appointed Wade to the case only because she was in a relationship with him.
Update 3/15/24, 10:14 a.m. ET: This story has been updated with additional information.
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About the writer
Sean O'Driscoll is a Newsweek Senior Crime and Courts Reporter based in Ireland. His focus is reporting on U.S. law. ... Read more