Atlanta: Attorney for former President Donald erase Thursday joined efforts to disqualify him. Fanny Willis In leading the election interference case against Trump in Georgia, she conflict of interest by hiring her romantic partner To assist in the prosecution of cases.
Trump's lawyers also filed new arguments seeking to oust Willis, the Fulton County district attorney. When Willis claimed in a recent speech that racism was behind the effort to remove him, he violated state bar rules.
The alleged relationship surfaced on Jan. 8 in a filing by Michael Roman, one of Trump's co-defendants in the Georgia case. Six days later, Willis, who is black, spoke at a church in Atlanta where she said her critics were “playing the race card” by criticizing her hiring of a special position. denunciatorNathan Wade, who is also black.
Willis did not confirm or deny her relationship with Wade, but was ordered to provide a written response to Roman's request by next week.
A document filed Thursday by Trump's lawyers said Willis' comments were “a blatant, blatant and calculated attempt to instill racial bias in this case by publicly criticizing defendants who had the audacity to question her decision to hire a black man.” It says “effort.”
The attorneys wrote that Willis' statement violated a provision of the Georgia Bar's Rules of Conduct that directs him to “refrain from making extrajudicial statements that are likely to heighten public criticism of the defendant.”
The statement could prejudice “prospective jurors in Fulton County,” attorneys wrote in the filing.
(Trump has previously called Willis a “racist” prosecutor and said the same could be said about other black prosecutors filing cases against him.)
The lawyers asked Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee, the judge overseeing the Georgia case, to dismiss the charges and disqualify Willis. The special prosecutor hired for the case, as well as Willis' entire office, should be disqualified, they said.
Anthony Michael Kreis, a law professor at Georgia State University, said Trump's defense team's new argument is unlikely to succeed, given the “vague” language Willis used in the speech and the fact that he did not mention the defendants. “This is a motion in the court of public opinion, not Judge McAfee,” he said.
Thursday's filing is the latest effort to leverage criticism of Roman's motion to disqualify Willis. In the Jan. 8 motion, Roman argued that Wade was unqualified for the position and that he used a portion of his salary from the district attorney's office to take Willis on vacation.
The motion also claims that both Wade and Willis “gained a personal interest and stake in Mr. Roman's conviction, thereby fundamentally depriving Mr. Roman of his right to a fair trial.”
Last week, Wade's estranged wife's divorce lawyer submitted credit card transactions showing that Wade had purchased airline tickets for himself and Willis for trips to Miami and San Francisco over the past two years.
The conflict of interest allegations have cast a shadow over the Georgia case, but the fundamental facts have not changed. Last August, a grand jury indicted Trump and 18 others for their role in a conspiracy to overturn the state's 2020 election results.
Four of the defendants have already pleaded guilty. Georgia is now one of six swing states that are prosecuting or investigating fake electors deployed to keep Trump in power.
The aftermath of the criticism presented several potential problems for Willis. Most urgently, McAfee must rule on Roman's request to disqualify him. The judge scheduled a hearing for February 15. Roman's motion also seeks to dismiss seven charges against him, including a racketeering charge.
While disqualification may seem like an extreme measure, there is already precedent in the Trump case itself. In July 2022, McAfee's predecessor, Robert CI McBurney, filed a criminal complaint against Willis and her entire office against Burt Jones, now Lieutenant Governor of Georgia, because Willis headlined a fundraiser for Jones' political opponent. has been disqualified from.
Another threat to Willis looms. Republican lawmakers created a commission to oversee and discipline Georgia district attorneys. That committee is expected to be activated later this year and will almost certainly investigate Willis' conduct.
Separately, Fulton County is investigating whether Willis violated an ordinance that prohibits county officials from accepting bribes from people doing business with the county. In a letter to Willis last week, county commissioners requested documentation to determine whether county funds paid to Wade were “converted to your personal benefit in the form of travel grants or other gifts.”
Legal experts disagree on whether the relationship between the two prosecutors would be sufficient grounds for McAfee to dismiss the case.
But many of them believe the motion is already a victory for Trump and the other defendants, noting that it's very likely that future jurors in election cases will hear about the charges. This could potentially influence their thoughts about the prosecution.
“This will certainly be of enormous political benefit to the defense and will certainly be used as a cudgel against the prosecution as a whole and the investigative process,” Kreis said.
Trump's lawyers also filed new arguments seeking to oust Willis, the Fulton County district attorney. When Willis claimed in a recent speech that racism was behind the effort to remove him, he violated state bar rules.
The alleged relationship surfaced on Jan. 8 in a filing by Michael Roman, one of Trump's co-defendants in the Georgia case. Six days later, Willis, who is black, spoke at a church in Atlanta where she said her critics were “playing the race card” by criticizing her hiring of a special position. denunciatorNathan Wade, who is also black.
Willis did not confirm or deny her relationship with Wade, but was ordered to provide a written response to Roman's request by next week.
A document filed Thursday by Trump's lawyers said Willis' comments were “a blatant, blatant and calculated attempt to instill racial bias in this case by publicly criticizing defendants who had the audacity to question her decision to hire a black man.” It says “effort.”
The attorneys wrote that Willis' statement violated a provision of the Georgia Bar's Rules of Conduct that directs him to “refrain from making extrajudicial statements that are likely to heighten public criticism of the defendant.”
The statement could prejudice “prospective jurors in Fulton County,” attorneys wrote in the filing.
(Trump has previously called Willis a “racist” prosecutor and said the same could be said about other black prosecutors filing cases against him.)
The lawyers asked Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee, the judge overseeing the Georgia case, to dismiss the charges and disqualify Willis. The special prosecutor hired for the case, as well as Willis' entire office, should be disqualified, they said.
Anthony Michael Kreis, a law professor at Georgia State University, said Trump's defense team's new argument is unlikely to succeed, given the “vague” language Willis used in the speech and the fact that he did not mention the defendants. “This is a motion in the court of public opinion, not Judge McAfee,” he said.
Thursday's filing is the latest effort to leverage criticism of Roman's motion to disqualify Willis. In the Jan. 8 motion, Roman argued that Wade was unqualified for the position and that he used a portion of his salary from the district attorney's office to take Willis on vacation.
The motion also claims that both Wade and Willis “gained a personal interest and stake in Mr. Roman's conviction, thereby fundamentally depriving Mr. Roman of his right to a fair trial.”
Last week, Wade's estranged wife's divorce lawyer submitted credit card transactions showing that Wade had purchased airline tickets for himself and Willis for trips to Miami and San Francisco over the past two years.
The conflict of interest allegations have cast a shadow over the Georgia case, but the fundamental facts have not changed. Last August, a grand jury indicted Trump and 18 others for their role in a conspiracy to overturn the state's 2020 election results.
Four of the defendants have already pleaded guilty. Georgia is now one of six swing states that are prosecuting or investigating fake electors deployed to keep Trump in power.
The aftermath of the criticism presented several potential problems for Willis. Most urgently, McAfee must rule on Roman's request to disqualify him. The judge scheduled a hearing for February 15. Roman's motion also seeks to dismiss seven charges against him, including a racketeering charge.
While disqualification may seem like an extreme measure, there is already precedent in the Trump case itself. In July 2022, McAfee's predecessor, Robert CI McBurney, filed a criminal complaint against Willis and her entire office against Burt Jones, now Lieutenant Governor of Georgia, because Willis headlined a fundraiser for Jones' political opponent. has been disqualified from.
Another threat to Willis looms. Republican lawmakers created a commission to oversee and discipline Georgia district attorneys. That committee is expected to be activated later this year and will almost certainly investigate Willis' conduct.
Separately, Fulton County is investigating whether Willis violated an ordinance that prohibits county officials from accepting bribes from people doing business with the county. In a letter to Willis last week, county commissioners requested documentation to determine whether county funds paid to Wade were “converted to your personal benefit in the form of travel grants or other gifts.”
Legal experts disagree on whether the relationship between the two prosecutors would be sufficient grounds for McAfee to dismiss the case.
But many of them believe the motion is already a victory for Trump and the other defendants, noting that it's very likely that future jurors in election cases will hear about the charges. This could potentially influence their thoughts about the prosecution.
“This will certainly be of enormous political benefit to the defense and will certainly be used as a cudgel against the prosecution as a whole and the investigative process,” Kreis said.