Former president Donald Trump and several allies charged in the Georgia election interference case asked the presiding judge to let them appeal his ruling allowing Fulton County District Attorney Fani T. Willis (D) to stay on the case.
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In a Monday court filing, Trump and eight co-defendants requested that Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee grant them a “certificate of immediate review” of his order last week denying defense motions seeking to disqualify Willis over claims that she had an improper romantic relationship with an outside prosecutor she had appointed to lead the case.
The certificate, if approved, would allow defendants to appeal McAfee’s order before the Georgia Court of Appeals.
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On Friday, McAfee ruled that Trump and the others had “failed to meet their burden” in proving that Willis’s romantic relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade and allegations that she was financially enriched by trips the two took together were enough of a “conflict of interest” to remove her from the case. However, McAfee also found a “significant appearance of impropriety” and said either Willis and her office or Wade had to leave the case. Wade resigned later Friday.
In their Monday motion, Trump and the others argued that Wade’s resignation was “insufficient to cure the appearance of impropriety the Court has determined exists.”
“The Court found that District Attorney Willis’ actions had created an appearance of impropriety and an ‘odor of mendacity’ that lingers in this case, as well as the continuing possibility that ‘an outsider could reasonably think that District Attorney Willis is not exercising her independent professional judgment totally free of any compromising influences,’” the defense motion stated, quoting McAfee’s ruling.
“Defendants believe that the relevant case law requires dismissal of the case, or at the very least, the disqualification of the District Attorney and her entire office under the facts that exist here,” the motion added.
Trump and others had also argued that Willis should be disqualified because of comments she made in a Jan. 14 speech at a historic Black church in Atlanta where she suggested that the criticism of her and Wade was racially motivated.
McAfee ruled Friday that defendants had not proven that Willis’s comments had tainted the potential jury pool, partly because it was too early to know. He also said case law on forensic misconduct by prosecutors was too vague to determine whether Willis’s remarks met that standard. But the judge was deeply critical of Willis’s speech, describing it as “legally improper.”
Trump and the others pointed to McAfee’s opinion about the speech as they argued that a higher court should review his ruling.
“Whether District Attorney Willis and her Office are permitted to continue representing the State of Georgia in prosecuting the Defendants in this action is of the utmost importance to this case, and ensuring the appellate courts have the opportunity to weigh in on these matters pre-trial is paramount,” the defense motion stated.
The defense motion was initially filed by attorneys for eight co-defendants who originally sought to disqualify Willis, including Trump, former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, former Trump campaign aides Mike Roman and Harrison Floyd, former Trump campaign attorney Robert Cheeley, former Georgia Republican Party chair David Shafer and Trump Georgia elector Cathleen Latham. Former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark joined the motion a short time later, a delay caused by a “paperwork mistake,” according to his lawyer Harry MacDougald.
A spokesman for Willis declined to comment.
Steve Sadow, an attorney for Trump, said in a statement that McAfee’s ruling on Willis “is ripe for pretrial appellate review.”
McAfee has given no hints about whether he will grant defendants the right to appeal his ruling on Willis. In a separate order last week dismissing six counts of the original 41-count indictment, the judge included language informing prosecutors he would approve an appeal if they requested one. No such language was included in Friday’s order on Willis — an omission that surprised some involved in the case.
Defendants had 10 days from last Friday to seek a certificate of review. There is no timetable for McAfee as he considers whether to allow an appeal to move forward. If McAfee grants a review, Trump and others would have another 10 days to file their case before the state Court of Appeals, which then has 45 days to determine whether to take the case. If the appellate court declines to take the case, Trump and the other could ask the Georgia Supreme Court to hear it.
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In a Monday court filing, Trump and eight co-defendants requested that Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee grant them a “certificate of immediate review” of his order last week denying defense motions seeking to disqualify Willis over claims that she had an improper romantic relationship with an outside prosecutor she had appointed to lead the case.
The certificate, if approved, would allow defendants to appeal McAfee’s order before the Georgia Court of Appeals.
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On Friday, McAfee ruled that Trump and the others had “failed to meet their burden” in proving that Willis’s romantic relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade and allegations that she was financially enriched by trips the two took together were enough of a “conflict of interest” to remove her from the case. However, McAfee also found a “significant appearance of impropriety” and said either Willis and her office or Wade had to leave the case. Wade resigned later Friday.
In their Monday motion, Trump and the others argued that Wade’s resignation was “insufficient to cure the appearance of impropriety the Court has determined exists.”
“The Court found that District Attorney Willis’ actions had created an appearance of impropriety and an ‘odor of mendacity’ that lingers in this case, as well as the continuing possibility that ‘an outsider could reasonably think that District Attorney Willis is not exercising her independent professional judgment totally free of any compromising influences,’” the defense motion stated, quoting McAfee’s ruling.
“Defendants believe that the relevant case law requires dismissal of the case, or at the very least, the disqualification of the District Attorney and her entire office under the facts that exist here,” the motion added.
Trump and others had also argued that Willis should be disqualified because of comments she made in a Jan. 14 speech at a historic Black church in Atlanta where she suggested that the criticism of her and Wade was racially motivated.
McAfee ruled Friday that defendants had not proven that Willis’s comments had tainted the potential jury pool, partly because it was too early to know. He also said case law on forensic misconduct by prosecutors was too vague to determine whether Willis’s remarks met that standard. But the judge was deeply critical of Willis’s speech, describing it as “legally improper.”
Trump and the others pointed to McAfee’s opinion about the speech as they argued that a higher court should review his ruling.
“Whether District Attorney Willis and her Office are permitted to continue representing the State of Georgia in prosecuting the Defendants in this action is of the utmost importance to this case, and ensuring the appellate courts have the opportunity to weigh in on these matters pre-trial is paramount,” the defense motion stated.
The defense motion was initially filed by attorneys for eight co-defendants who originally sought to disqualify Willis, including Trump, former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, former Trump campaign aides Mike Roman and Harrison Floyd, former Trump campaign attorney Robert Cheeley, former Georgia Republican Party chair David Shafer and Trump Georgia elector Cathleen Latham. Former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark joined the motion a short time later, a delay caused by a “paperwork mistake,” according to his lawyer Harry MacDougald.
A spokesman for Willis declined to comment.
Steve Sadow, an attorney for Trump, said in a statement that McAfee’s ruling on Willis “is ripe for pretrial appellate review.”
McAfee has given no hints about whether he will grant defendants the right to appeal his ruling on Willis. In a separate order last week dismissing six counts of the original 41-count indictment, the judge included language informing prosecutors he would approve an appeal if they requested one. No such language was included in Friday’s order on Willis — an omission that surprised some involved in the case.
Defendants had 10 days from last Friday to seek a certificate of review. There is no timetable for McAfee as he considers whether to allow an appeal to move forward. If McAfee grants a review, Trump and others would have another 10 days to file their case before the state Court of Appeals, which then has 45 days to determine whether to take the case. If the appellate court declines to take the case, Trump and the other could ask the Georgia Supreme Court to hear it.
