Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is fighting against attempts by former President Donald Trump and his co-defendants to disqualify her office from prosecuting the election subversion case in Georgia. She asked the Georgia Court of Appeals to uphold a ruling that allowed her to remain on the case if her top prosecutor resigned, which he did. Trump and others are seeking to have the initial ruling overturned and Willis is arguing that there was no error in the trial court’s decision.
Willis’s office maintains that there is no conflict of interest and that her comments about race playing a role in criticism of her office did not amount to misconduct requiring disqualification. The prosecutors stated that there was no evidence of misconduct to warrant disqualification, and no calculated plan to prejudice the defendants or secure their convictions. Trump and his co-defendants continue to argue that the relationship between Willis and her former top prosecutor created a conflict of interest and that she should be disqualified from the case.
The Georgia Court of Appeals will decide whether to review the decision not to disqualify Willis and her office. However, the appeal does not halt the prosecution, which is still ongoing. Willis intends to move forward with prosecuting Trump and his co-defendants before the November presidential election, although no trial date has been set yet. Trump also wants the court to review a decision not to dismiss the indictment based on First Amendment protections for his attempts to overturn the 2020 election, with his co-defendants joining in the motion seeking permission to appeal the decision.
The defense attorneys argued that the defendants’ arguments fall within the almost absolute First Amendment protections for political speech regarding the 2020 Presidential election contest, citing numerous court cases and historical precedent. McAfee would need to approve the request for the appeal to proceed, and the Georgia Court of Appeals would then decide whether to review the matter. The district attorney’s office declined to comment, with prosecutors previously stating that the free speech question should be addressed by a jury at trial. The legal battle over the prosecution of the election subversion case in Georgia continues to unfold.
