Washington- The Georgia Court of Appeals tentatively ruled out Oct. 4 arguments in an attempt by former President Donald Trump and his allies to remove Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and her office from office. he case involving an alleged attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia. election.
The appeals court said in May that it review a decision of Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee who allowed Willis to continue his prosecution the case against Trump. Arguments will be heard by Justices Trenton Brown, Todd Markle and Benjamin Land.
The former president and eight of his co-defendants in the sprawling racketeering case brought by Willis’ office had pushed to have her disqualified because of a personal relationship she had with special prosecutor Nathan Wade. But McAfee rejected the offer and said Willis and his office could continue their work on the case if Wade stepped down, which he did. Trump and a group of his co-defendants appeals the decision.
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Proceedings in the Georgia Court of Appeals will delay the start of any trial, and no date has been set for its start.
Steve Sadow, Trump’s lawyer in the Georgia case, confirmed that oral arguments before the appeals court are tentatively set for October 4.
“We look forward to presenting our arguments before Justices Brown, Markel and Land on why this case should be dismissed and why Fulton County Prosecutor Willis should be disqualified for the misconduct admitted by the trial court with “smell of lies,” in violation of Georgia’s Rules of Professional Conduct,” he said in a statement.
The former president faces 10 charges in Georgia, where he and more than a dozen of his allies were charged in what prosecutors say was an illegal scheme to overturn the state’s 2020 election results. Trump and his original 18 co-defendants have pleaded no guilty, but four later plea deals accepted.
The proceedings were derailed earlier this year after one of those co-defendants, Michael Roman, a GOP operative, claimed that Willis and Wade had an inappropriate romantic relationship and alleged that Willis benefited financially.
Roman claimed the relationship began before Wade was hired in November 2021 to work on the case involving Trump, and he sought to have Willis and his office disqualified and the charges dismissed. Trump and seven others joined Roman’s motion, saying the lawsuits were invalid and unconstitutional.
Willis and Wade admitted to having had a romantic relationshipbut said their relationship began after Wade became involved in the investigation and ended in the summer of 2023. They both denied that Willis benefited financially from their relationship and said they shared the costs associated with the trips they took together.
McAfee issued his decision denying the disqualification request in mid-March and sharply rebuked Willis’ conduct. The judge said that while he could not conclusively determine when the prosecutors’ relationship became romantic, “a whiff of lies persists.” He criticized Willis for a “huge error of judgment.”
The appeal of the disqualification order opened the door for the district attorney’s office to also appeal another recent decision without obtaining McAfee’s approval, in a maneuver known as cross-appeal. In early March, McAfee dismissed six counts against the former president and five other co-defendants, considering that the indictment “contains all the essential elements of the crimes” but does not “give sufficient detail on the nature of their commission”. Of the six counts dismissed, Trump was charged with three.
Trump has attempted to dismiss the indictment on numerous grounds, including that he is absolutely immune from prosecution and that the charges violate the First Amendment. But McAfee in April rejected the former president’s request to drop the charges on free speech grounds, something Trump also appealed for.
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