Judge Scott McAfee issued a certificate of immediate review on Wednesday, allowing former President Donald Trump and other co-defendants to seek appeal of an order denying disqualification of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from their election interference case.
"The Court finds that the order on the Defendants' motions to Dismiss and Disqualify the Fulton County District Attorney issued March 15, 2024, 'is of such importance to the case that immediate review should be had.' Accordingly the requested motion is granted," McAfee wrote.
The Context:
Earlier this month, it was ruled that Willis could remain on the case prosecuting the former president and 18 others accused in a 41-count indictment of trying to overturn Trump's 2020 election loss in Georgia.
Trump, the presumptive 2024 Republican presidential nominee, has pleaded not guilty to all 13 charges against him and has repeatedly said the case is part of a political witch hunt.
Following an ethics hearing, McAfee announced he wasn't disqualifying Willis from the case following accusations by former Trump staffer and co-defendant Michael Roman that she was in a relationship with Nathan Wade, a special prosecutor she hired in the high-profile case, and that the pair benefited from taxpayer money.
McAfee gave Willis the option of removing herself or Wade from the case. Wade resigned shortly after.
What We Know:
Trump's legal team appealed McAfee's decision on Monday, stating Wade's resignation is "insufficient" to "cure the appearance of impropriety the Court has determined exists."
"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 pretrial is paramount," the filing states.
On Wednesday, McAfee granted the certificate of appeal, leaving the Georgia Court of Appeals to determine if they will take it up—a move some legal experts say could result in a pause in the case.
Views:
Steve Sadow, the lead defense counsel for Trump in the case, responded to Wednesday's ruling in a statement saying: "Judge McAfee has granted the motion for a certificate of immediate review filed by President Trump and eight other defendants. This is highly significant. It means the defense is permitted to apply to the Georgia Court of Appeals for pretrial review of the Judge's order refusing to dismiss the case or disqualify Fulton County DA Willis. The defense is optimistic that appellate review will lead to the case being dismissed and the DA being disqualified."
However, ahead of Wednesday's ruling, legal experts had warned that appealing could be particularly challenging. Attorney and Georgia State University College of Law Professor Anthony Michael Kreis previously told Newsweek: "It'll be very hard for the defendants to demonstrate that the factors that favor review are present here because Judge McAfee's ruling exhaustively explained why the defendants were not prejudiced by Wade and Willis' relationship, and, applying long-standing precedent, determined there is no actual conflict of interest, and provided a curative remedy to remove the appearance of wrongdoing."
Newsweek has reached out to Trump's spokesperson and Fulton County Superior Court via email for comment.
What's Next?
The Georgia Court of Appeal will have 45 days to make a decision on whether to take on the case.
If the court takes the case up, this will likely cause a substantial delay to the case as prosecutors are pushing to go to trial and seek a verdict before the 2024 election.
Update 3/20/24, 11:50 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information and background.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Natalie Venegas is a Weekend Reporter at Newsweek based in New York. Her focus is reporting on education, social justice ... Read more
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