Fani Willis Removed From Trump's Election Interference Case

ATLANTA, GA — A Georgia court has removed Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and her office from an election interference case charging president-elect Donald Trump with racketeering.

The Georgia Court of Appeals on Thursday handed down the ruling that barred Willis from the case after claiming a trial judge erred to do so after her romantic relationship with her top prosecutor was publicized, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. It was a 2-1 decision, the AJC reported.

Willis chose to prosecute Trump and 18 allies after accusing them of trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia.

The future of the prosecution is uncertain. The case against Trump and more than a dozen others had already been largely stalled for months while the Georgia Court of Appeals considered the pretrial appeal.

The new ruling means it will be up to the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia to find another prosecutor to take over the case and to decide whether to continue to pursue it, though that could be delayed if Willis decides to appeal to the state Supreme Court.

Whether it is ultimately Willis or another prosecutor in charge, it seems unlikely that a prosecution against Trump could continue while he’s president for the next four years. But there are 14 other defendants who still face charges.

It's the latest legal victory for Trump as he prepares for a return to power in a second term, further underscoring how criminal cases that just one year ago threatened to impede Trump’s political career and put him in personal jeopardy have now tilted in his favor.

And he cheered the state court's decision, telling Fox News Digital that the case “should not be allowed to go any further.” The president-elect added: “Everybody should receive an apology, including those wonderful patriots who have been caught up in this for years.”

Steve Sadow, Trump's lead attorney in Georgia, said the ruling was “well-reasoned and just.” He said the appeals court "highlighted that Willis’ misconduct created an ‘odor of mendacity’ and an appearance of impropriety that could only be cured by the disqualification of her and her entire office."

“This decision puts an end to a politically motivated persecution of the next President of the United States,” Sadow wrote in an emailed statement.

U.S. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who accused Willis of criminal misconduct, was one of multiple people to call for Willis' removal after news broke of her involvement with prosecutor Nathan Wade.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee determined in March that top prosecutor Wade or Willis and her office should leave the case due to the appearance of impropriety relating to the pair's romantic relationship.

The judge said there was no "actual conflict" due to their relationship, which would have disqualified Willis. Wade ultimately resigned from the case.

The AJC's Greg Bluestein shared a copy of the appeal court's opinion, which read in part:

"The remedy crafted by the trial court to prevent an ongoing appearance of impropriety did nothing to address the appearance of impropriety that existed at times when DA Willis was exercising her broad pretrial discretion about who to prosecute and what charges to bring," the appeals court wrote.

The court decided that Willis was "wholly disqualified from this case." The decision was made due to Wade's conflict of interest and was not made because of Willis' conduct, the court wrote.

The appeals court refused to dismiss the entire indictment against Trump and the others.

Trump was initially charged on suspicion of violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, three counts of solicitation of violation of oath by public officer, conspiracy to commit impersonating a public officer, two counts of first-degree conspiracy to commit forgery, two counts of conspiracy to commit false statements and writings, conspiracy to commit filing false documents, filing false documents and false statements and writings.

However, McAfee quashed on March 13 six counts of solicitation of violation of oath by public officer against Trump, Giuliani, Meadows, Cheeley and attorneys Ray Smith and John Eastman.

With Willis off the case, it is unknown how it will move forward.

Patch has reached out to Fani Willis' office for comment.

This story contains reporting by the Associated Press.