FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — A Georgia judge is set to determine by Friday whether to remove Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from the case against former President Donald Trump amid allegations that she had an inappropriate relationship with the special prosecutor in the case.
Following a hearing on March 1, Judge Scott McAfee said he expected to issue a ruling “within the next two weeks.” His decision could be handed down “any time now,” WSB-TV reported Thursday.
McAfee confirmed to the news outlet Thursday evening that his decision will be made on Friday.
Last month, McAfee heard testimony from witnesses including Willis and special prosecutor Nathan Wade after an attorney accused them of having a “clandestine personal relationship” that created a conflict of interest. Wade was hired as the special prosecutor over the case against Trump and 18 others who are accused of conspiring to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election which Trump lost to President Joe Biden.
Ashleigh Merchant, who is representing former Trump campaign staff member Michael Roman, accused Willis of starting a romantic relationship with Wade before hiring him to prosecute the case against her client. During legal arguments on March 1, defense attorneys said Willis got clear financial benefits from the relationship, pointing to vacations they took together that Wade covered.
On the stand, both Willis and Wade acknowledged that they had a romantic relationship for roughly a year and a half in 2022 and 2023, but they denied any wrongdoing. Willis said she reimbursed Wade for the cost of any outings in cash.
“You’re confused,” she told Merchant during questioning last month. “You think I’m on trial. These people are on trial for trying to steal an election in 2020. I’m not on trial, no matter how hard you try to put me on trial.”
Steve Sadow, an attorney representing Trump, said in court that McAfee would not have to determine that Willis and Wade lied about their relationship in order to disqualify them from the case. He said that the judge would only have to find that he has “genuine legitimate concerns about their credibility and their truthfulness.”
An attorney for the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office, Adam Abbate, argued that removing Willis and Wade from the case was a step too far, as similar cases in the past have led to removal only when an “actual conflict” was discovered, and not when there was just the appearance of impropriety.
It was not immediately clear what might happen to the case if Willis and Wade are disqualified. The allegations against the prosecutors do not change the nature of the charges against Trump or his co-defendants, although they have created a messy diversion in the case.
Last year, a grand jury indicted Trump and 18 others on charges that they racketeered to keep him in power after he lost the 2020 presidential election in Georgia.
Four people — bail bondsman Scott Hall and attorneys Sidney Powell, Kenneth Chesebro and Jenna Ellis — have pleaded guilty to charges. The remaining defendants, including Trump, have denied wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty.
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