Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has emerged from her disqualification hearing with a path forward, but she is now marred by controversy. Fulton Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee decided on Friday morning not to disqualify Willis from leading the Georgia case against former President Donald Trump, on the condition that her subordinate and romantic partner Nathan Wade is removed.
CNN’s Elie Honig discussed the victory for Willis, despite the complications: “She has survived. That is the most important thing here. I’d be breathing a sigh of relief.”
The judge’s opinion revealed a “significant appearance of impropriety” and a “tremendous lack in judgment” on the part of Willis and her team, along with an “unprofessional manner” in her testimony, and an “odor of mendacity” – a polite way of hinting at dishonesty.
“Finally, and I think this is the most damning, there are reasonable questions about whether the DA testified untruthfully. Any one of these statements by a judge would be a career-ender,” said Honig.
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Trump’s legal team expressed its dissatisfaction, critiquing Judge McAfee for not giving due weight to what they describe as “prosecutorial misconduct” by Willis. Yet, the political ramifications of the scenario remain to be seen.
The ruling allows Willis to continue her work on the case, provided she navigates the treacherous waters without further controversy. The decision by Judge McAfee, while allowing Willis a narrow path forward, casts a long shadow over her career and the case at hand.
In his attempt to find a middle ground, McAfee wrote that his decision was premised on the idea that “disqualification of a constitutional officer [is not] necessary when a less drastic and sufficiently remedial option is available.”
However, he added it is obvious “that the prosecution of this case cannot proceed until the State selects one of two options.” Either “the District Attorney may choose to step aside, along with the whole of her office” or “Wade can withdraw” allowing the case to proceed without further distraction.
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Although the decision is not total vindication for Trump and his 14 co-defendants, Willis has emerged badly damaged as a result of self-inflicted wounds that will also cost her reviews by the U.S. House and a new Georgia panel with the power to remove prosecutors who abuse the powers of office. She has also garnered a Republican opponent for her election later this year.
The move came shortly after Judge McAfee quashed six charges in the case for all defendants, including three for former President Trump, related to the pressuring of state officials to violate their oaths of office. Prosecutors previously charged Trump over a statement made to Republican Secretary of State Ben Raffensperger allegedly demanding he “find” over 11,000 votes to change the outcome of the state’s 2020 election.
Should Willis proceed in the case, she now finds herself mired in a backlog of delays across Trump’s four criminal cases which legal observers believe may be enough to push most or all trials well past Election Day. Should he win another term in the White House, it is expected that Trump would use executive authority to dismiss, at the very least, the two federal cases he is facing.