Attorneys for former President Trump have intensified their legal battle against Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.
They are arguing in a court filing on Monday, June 24, 2024, that the Georgia appeals court should overturn a lower court’s decision and disqualify Willis from prosecuting Trump.
The legal team alleges that Willis engaged in misconduct, which they claim has compromised her ability to lead the case.
Central to their argument is the revelation of Willis’s romantic relationship with Wade, one of Trump’s top prosecutors, which led to a significant delay in Trump’s Georgia election interference case.
This delay included a series of hearings that eventually permitted Willis to continue her role as district attorney.
The filing also accuses Willis of making politically charged comments in various public forums and attempting to conceal her relationship with Wade initially.
Judge Scott McAfee, who oversees the election interference case in the Superior Court of Fulton County, has yet to set a trial date. The appeal to disqualify Willis is expected to cause further delays.
Meanwhile, McAfee indicated he plans to address pending motions despite the uncertainty surrounding the trial schedule, though the defendants might seek to pause the trial proceedings.
Given these complications, any trial is unlikely to commence before the November election, with Willis previously suggesting that the case could extend into 2025, even before the current delays.
The disqualification campaign was initiated by Michael Roman, a 2020 Trump campaign operative and a defendant in the case. His efforts quickly gained support from Trump and other co-defendants, resulting in weeks of legal detours.
Last summer, Willis charged Trump and over a dozen of his associates with attempting to overturn the state’s 2020 presidential election results, alleging an unlawful conspiracy to negate President Biden’s victory in Georgia.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
