Judge Scott McAfee is allowing Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to continue on the election subversion case against Donald Trump – but she was forced to lose special prosecutor Nathan Wade after an embarrassing two months that put Willis and Wade on trial themselves over their romantic relationship.
It’s a technical legal win for Willis since she may continue, along with her full office, prosecuting Trump and 14 others.
But McAfee’s 23-page opinion was a scathing rebuke of the district attorney’s actions, and it remains unclear if Trump will face trial before November on his actions after the 2020 presidential election.
McAfee ruled that either Wade or Willis would have to leave the case, as an “odor of mendacity remains” over the circumstances of their relationship. Wade sent his letter of resignation just hours later, saying he was resigning “in the interest of democracy, in dedication to the American public, and to move this case forward as quickly as possible.”
Here are takeaways from Friday’s ruling:
Willis survives, but the DA and her case are wounded
While Willis survived the disqualification challenge, the detour over her relationship with Wade has left a stain on her case, both in court – where potential jurors are likely to be familiar with the episode – and the broader public, which will vote on whether to return Trump to the White House in November.
McAfee was highly critical of Willis and Wade’s relationship, describing it as being the result of “bad choices.”
Yet, “Georgia law does not permit the finding of an actual conflict for simply making bad choices – even repeatedly,” he wrote.
Their relationship was thrown into the center of the case in January,…
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