A Georgia judge has allowed the election interference case against Donald Trump to proceed under Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, but with a significant caveat – her former romantic partner, special prosecutor Nathan Wade, must resign.
In a highly anticipated ruling, Judge Scott McAfee stopped short of fully disqualifying Willis despite concluding her relationship with Wade created an unacceptable “appearance of impropriety.” The judge found no actual conflict of interest requiring Willis’ removal.
“As the case moves forward, reasonable members of the public could easily be left to wonder whether the financial exchanges have continued resulting in some form of benefit to the District Attorney, or even whether the romantic relationship has resumed. As long as Wade remains on the case, this unnecessary perception will persist.”
Judge scott mcAfee
However, McAfee said the public’s persisting doubts over the pair’s dealings, including questions about when precisely their romance began, necessitated Wade’s departure to “cure” the ethical cloud.
Within hours, Willis accepted Wade’s resignation letter, ensuring her continued leadership of the controversial racketeering prosecution targeting the former president for alleged criminal efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss in Georgia.
The compromise decision deals a partial victory to both sides – allowing the high-stakes case to advance under Willis’ team after over two years of investigative work, while validating Trump’s complaints about the district attorney’s conduct.
Trump’s attorneys lambasted the ruling as insufficient, vowing to pursue “all legal options” to terminate a case they deem illegitimate. But Wade’s exit removes the most glaring conflict posing a dismissal risk.
Though cleared of requiring disqualification, the judge excoriated Willis’ “tremendous lapse in judgment,” suggesting skepticism that her relationship began after hiring Wade as she had testified.
By forcing out Wade but keeping Willis, McAfee sought to strike a balance – condemning the district attorney’s ethics breach while avoiding a prolonged delay that could push the historic prosecution past the 2024 election cycle.