Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis can prosecute Donald Trump on charges that he interfered with Georgia’s 2020 election now that a special prosecutor with whom she had a romantic relationship has withdrawn from the case
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis can prosecute Donald Trump on charges that he interfered with Georgia’s 2020 election now that a special prosecutor with whom she had a romantic relationship has withdrawn from the case.
But the long-term impacts of allegations of impropriety that have roiled the case for weeks remain to be seen, with Trump and his allies certain to continue to attack the legitimacy of the prosecution against the former president and 18 others.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee ruled Friday that Willis could stay if special prosecutor Nathan Wade left. That was a partial victory for Willis, whom defense attorneys had pushed to have removed from the case over her relationship Wade.
But the judge also rebuked Willis for her “tremendous” lapse in judgment and questioned the truthfulness of Wade’s and her testimony about the timing of their relationship.
It’s an extraordinary decision in a case that in recent weeks has taken on a soap opera atmosphere as the prosecutors who pledged to hold Trump accountable had their own personal lives thrust into the spotlight.
Here are some major takeaways from the judge’s ruling:
The judge’s ruling threw it to Willis to decide whether she — and her entire office — would step aside or whether Wade would withdraw from the case. The judge said the prosecution couldn’t move forward until one of those two actions was taken.
Several hours after the ruling came down, Wade offered his resignation and Willis accepted it.
If Willis had instead opted to step aside, the case would have been referred to the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council — a nonpartisan association of Georgia district attorneys — to be assigned to a different prosecutor.
That could have upended the entire prosecution. Another prosecutor could have continued on the track that Willis has taken, could have chosen to pursue only some charges or could have dropped the case altogether.
The defense attorney who first revealed the romantic relationship, 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.
