Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis suffered another major setback on Tuesday when she failed in her attempt to rejoin the Georgia election interference case against President Trump — who reacted by blasting her as a “disaster.”
The prosecutor, already facing criticism, was removed from the case last December by the Georgia Court of Appeals because of concerns over her romantic involvement with Nathan Wade, the special prosecutor leading the investigation. The court cited an “appearance of impropriety” in its ruling.
On Tuesday, Georgia’s Supreme Court announced that it would not overturn the lower court’s decision to disqualify her.
President Trump welcomed the ruling while speaking from the White House lawn before leaving for the UK, declaring that Willis should herself be investigated.
“Well, that was a great decision. It was a rigged case to start off with. It’s great. The court just ruled that she is a disaster. She’s a disaster with her boyfriend,” he said, referring to Wade.
“She should be prosecuted,” Trump insisted, though Willis has not been charged with any crimes.
“What she did to people, forget about me, what Fani Willis did to innocent people, to patriots, what she did to them by indicting them and destroying them, she should be put in jail,” he continued. “She’s a criminal. Fani Willis is a criminal.”
Trump’s attorney Steve Sadow released a statement with a more restrained tone, saying the Supreme Court had come to the correct conclusion.
“Willis’ misconduct during the investigation and prosecution of President Trump was egregious and she deserved nothing less than disqualification,” Sadow said. “This proper decision should bring an end to the wrongful political, lawfare persecutions of the President.”
The decision by Georgia’s highest court came in a close 4-3 vote. One justice did not participate, and another was recused.
The next move falls to the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia, which must decide who will take over the case. How that plays out remains uncertain.
The new prosecutor could follow the same legal path Willis pursued, scale back the charges, or possibly drop the case altogether.
Because Trump now holds the presidency, the likelihood of him being tried is virtually nonexistent. However, other co-defendants remain exposed to ongoing legal battles.
In 2023, Trump and 18 allies were indicted under Georgia’s racketeering laws, accused of trying to unlawfully reverse his narrow 2020 defeat in the state to Joe Biden.
“While I disagree with the decision of the Georgia Court of Appeals and the Georgia Supreme Court’s divided decision not to review it, I respect the legal process and the courts,” Willis told The Post in a statement.
“Accordingly, my office will make the case file and evidence available to the Prosecuting Attorneys Council for use in the ongoing litigation. I hope that whoever is assigned to handle the case will have the courage to do what the evidence and the law demand.”
Justice Andrew Pinson, writing for the majority, explained that the circumstances of Willis’ removal were unusual and limited, and that the court should not intervene in a way that would create new precedent.
“Appellate decisions addressing attempts to disqualify prosecutors are few and far between, and only a handful of those addressed a claim that a prosecutor must be disqualified based even in part on conduct that created an appearance of impropriety,” Pinson wrote.
The ruling nonetheless suggested that prosecutors may be expected to meet stricter ethical obligations than private attorneys.
In a strongly worded dissent, Justice Carla Wong McMillian countered that whether a prosecutor can be removed purely because of an appearance of impropriety is an issue that “affects every single active lawyer in the State of Georgia.”
The controversy surrounding Willis and Wade upended the case last year.
Wade earned an eye-popping $654,000 from his role as special prosecutor, and was accused of spending portions of his earnings on expensive trips and gifts for Willis.
A lower court judge later ruled that either Willis or Wade had to withdraw if the case was to move forward, prompting Wade to resign.
Trump, in the meantime, had been facing four criminal cases while out of office, including two federal prosecutions overseen by special counsel Jack Smith. Both of those federal cases collapsed after Trump secured victory in the 2024 election.
Separately, Trump was found guilty on 34 counts in the hush money case brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, though he did not receive any sentencing.
{Matzav.com}
