A hearing that could derail the election subversion case against Donald Trump and others in Georgia is set for Thursday and Friday as a judge considers whether Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis should be disqualified.
The two-day evidentiary hearing is a pivotal moment for the Georgia RICO case. Trump and co-defendants are seeking to remove Willis based on allegations that she and Nathan Wade, the special prosecutor she hired to lead the case, engaged in an improper romantic relationship which financially benefitted the district attorney.
If Trump and his co-defendants succeed in disqualifying Willis, some inside the DA’s office fear it could derail the entire case, according to multiple sources familiar with their thinking. The sprawling racketeering case still has no trial date, and Willis and her team are keenly aware that the window to go to trial before the 2024 election is rapidly shrinking.
Any delay could mean Trump could avoid a trial on his efforts to overturn his 2020 election defeat or connections to the January 6, 2021, US Capitol attack until after Election Day. Trump’s federal trial is already delayed due to a request for the Supreme Court to intervene.
It’s unclear if another prosecutor in Georgia would even be inclined to take up the case from Willis, given its political and legal challenges.
Wade and Willis acknowledged in court filings that they had a personal relationship but deny any wrongdoing. Willis argued there’s no basis for her to be disqualified or for the case to be dismissed.
During a hearing earlier this week, Willis’s attorneys failed to convince Judge Scott McAfee that the motions to disqualify her and dismiss the case should be denied without an evidentiary hearing.
McAfee called for the hearing…
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