The Georgia Court of Appeals disqualified Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and her entire team from prosecuting President-elect Donald Trump after a serious of scandals exposed gross impropriety.
The Georgia Court of Appeals picked up the case in May two months after a lower trial court denied a Trump motion to remove Willis as the principal prosecutor following revelations of an inappropriate relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade. Willis was initially permitted to press forward with racketeering “RICO” charges against Trump and 18 others after she was exposed for generously compensating Wade, which in turn allowed the special prosecutor to shower her with romantic vacations. Only Wade was compelled to step down in March following roughly $1 million in payments for his work on the case.
“After carefully considering the trial court’s findings in its order, we conclude that it erred by failing to disqualify [District Attorney] Willis and her office,” the Georgia Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday. “While we recognize that an appearance of impropriety generally is not enough to support disqualification, this is the rare case in which disqualification is mandated and no other remedy will suffice to restore public confidence in the integrity of these proceedings.”
Federalist Senior Legal Correspondent Margot Cleveland wrote on X Thursday the case will now be randomly assigned to another prosecutorial office in Georgia.
Willis became an overnight celebrity within the Democrat Party last year when she indicted Trump as one of her first official acts as Fulton County district attorney. Trump was delivered charges along with 18 others over objections related to the certification of the 2020 election. Democrats had made similar challenges against election outcomes for decades. In fact, Democrats objected to more states in the 2016 election than Republicans did in 2020, but none faced criminal charges.
Willis became a liability for the case, however, when she and Wade allegedly spent money ostensibly meant for Trump’s prosecution on lavish vacations to the Bahamas, Aruba, Belize, and Napa Valley. The pair denied the allegations and found themselves each in the witness stand earlier this year as they testified about the conflicts of interest ultimately disqualifying them both from pursuing the case.
In a viral clip from February, Willis said she reimbursed Wade for her share of the costs incurred on their trips together. When pressed in court on proof of payment, Willis declared, “The proof is what I just told you.”
In another viral moment from her February testimony, Willis was unaware which continents she had visited with Wade.
“Where’s Belize? What continent? I’m not being funny. I don’t know,” she said. “I’ve been to Belize with him. I’ve been to The Bahamas with him. I’ve been to Aruba with him. Don’t embarrass me. I’m not sure what continents those are on. Whatever continents those are, that’s where I’ve been.”
