Current:Home > FinanceFulton County DA Fani Willis must step aside or remove special prosecutor in Trump case, judge says -AssetScope
Fulton County DA Fani Willis must step aside or remove special prosecutor in Trump case, judge says
View
Date:2025-04-15 05:35:37
ATLANTA (AP) — Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis must step aside from the Georgia election interference case against Donald Trump or remove the special prosecutor with whom she had a romantic relationship before the case can proceed, the judge overseeing it ruled Friday.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee said he did not conclude that Willis’ relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade amounted to a conflict of interest. However, he said, it created an “appearance of impropriety” that infected the prosecution team.
“As the case moves forward, reasonable members of the public could easily be left to wonder whether the financial exchanges have continued resulting in some form of benefit to the District Attorney, or even whether the romantic relationship has resumed,” the judge wrote.
“Put differently, an outsider could reasonably think that the District Attorney is not exercising her independent professional judgment totally free of any compromising influences. As long as Wade remains on the case, this unnecessary perception will persist.”
Willis and Wade testified at a hearing last month that they had engaged in a romantic relationship, but they rejected the idea that Willis improperly benefited from it, as lawyers for Trump and some of his co-defendants alleged.
McAfee wrote that there was insufficient evidence that Willis had a personal stake in the prosecution, but he said his finding “is by no means an indication that the Court condones this tremendous lapse in judgement or the unprofessional manner of the District Attorney’s testimony during the evidentiary hearing.”
The judge said he believes that “Georgia law does not permit the finding of an actual conflict for simply making bad choices -- even repeatedly -- and it is the trial court’s duty to confine itself to the relevant issues and applicable law properly brought before it.”
An attorney for co-defendant Michael Roman asked McAfee to dismiss the indictment and prevent Willis and Wade and their offices from continuing to prosecute the case. The attorney, Ashleigh Merchant, alleged that Willis paid Wade large sums for his work and then improperly benefited from the prosecution of the case when Wade used his earnings to pay for vacations for the two of them.
Willis had insisted that the relationship created no financial or personal conflict of interest that justified removing her office from the case. She and Wade both testified that their relationship began in the spring of 2022 and ended in the summer of 2023. They both said that Willis either paid for things herself or used cash to reimburse Wade for travel expenses.
The sprawling indictment charges Trump and more than a dozen other defendants with violating Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, known as RICO. The case uses a statute normally associated with mobsters to accuse the former president, lawyers and other aides of a “criminal enterprise” to keep him in power after he lost the 2020 election to Democrat Joe Biden.
Trump, Republicans’ presumptive presidential nominee for 2024, has denied doing anything wrong and pleaded not guilty.
veryGood! (99172)
Related
- Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow owns a $3 million Batmobile Tumbler
- Zendaya Surprises Tom Holland With Sweetest Gift for Final Romeo & Juliet Show
- Preseason college football coaches poll: Who are the most overrated teams?
- Last Day to Shop the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale: Race Against the Clock to Shop the Top 45 Deals
- Bill Belichick's salary at North Carolina: School releases football coach's contract details
- Liz Taylor speaks from beyond the grave in 'Lost Tapes' documentary
- Want to train like an Olympic champion? Start with this expert advice.
- How did Simone Biles do Monday? Star gymnast wraps Paris Olympics with beam, floor finals
- Tom Holland's New Venture Revealed
- Team pursuit next for US cyclist Kristen Faulkner: 'Want to walk away with two medals'
Ranking
- Grammy nominee Teddy Swims on love, growth and embracing change
- Charli XCX and Lorde spotted at 'Brat' singer's birthday party after rumored feud
- Tropical Storm Debby barrels toward Florida, with potential record-setting rains further north
- American men underwhelm in pool at Paris Olympics. Women lead way as Team USA wins medal race.
- John Galliano out at Maison Margiela, capping year of fashion designer musical chairs
- Chinese businesses hoping to expand in the US and bring jobs face uncertainty and suspicion
- Want to train like an Olympic champion? Start with this expert advice.
- 'It's me being me': Behind the scenes with Snoop Dogg at the Paris Olympics
Recommendation
The 401(k) millionaires club keeps growing. We'll tell you how to join.
Real Housewives of New Jersey Star Gia Giudice Reveals the 1 College Essential That’s 1,000% Necessary
Why Jordan Chiles' score changed, giving her bronze medal in Olympic floor final
Olympics 2024: Simone Biles and Jordan Chiles Medal in Floor Final After Last-Minute Score Inquiry
Small twin
Debby shows there's more to a storm than wind scale: 'Impacts are going to be from water'
USA Women's Basketball vs. Germany highlights: US gets big victory to win Group C
Everything you need to know about the compact Dodge Neon SRT-4